The Life of an Author
by Theimaginenation
Summary: Percy Jackson is an NYU graduate aiming to be a great writer, one that will put all other bestselling authors to shame. However, there's one problem: he has writers' block. Seeking inspiration, he goes out and encounters a beautiful, yet terrifying blonde woman. The bad news? She constantly tries to beat him up for being such a seaweed brain. Just your average life as an author...
1. Enchiladas

**A/N: Yeah, it's my first fanfic, and I'm using this story to help develop my writing. If the story sucks in your guys' views, feel free to put in constructive criticism, and I can only hope that through my experience on fan fiction, I will be able to write and tell stories in better quality than the one that you see right before you. **

**By the way, I don't own any rights to Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Rick Riordan does. I just own the idea and stuff.**

I stared at the computer screen, just waiting for new ideas to flow into my mind. I had a serious case of writer's block; I couldn't think nor brainstorm any plots or characters that I could use for my book. _Why can't I think of at least one measly idea?_ I thought in frustration.

That's one of the toughest things about being an author; your career depends on what your mind can conjure up from the plot to character development.

My name is Percy Jackson, and as of the moment, I am attempting to write a story, a story so amazing, that it would blow the minds of billions around the globe. However, as I have mentioned before, the most significant barrier that exists in the way of doing that, is thinking up of a good story.

How does my mom do it? My mother, by the way, is Sally Jackson, the most amazing woman in the world who you will ever meet in your life. She struggled through so many hardships in her life trying to raise money, and to raise me to become the man I am today. I suppose another reason why her life was so hard was because my dad left us the moment he knew that my mom was pregnant. My mom seemed really understanding about it though, as if she knew that him leaving was for the best. She didn't seem angry, just sad whenever the subject of my dad came up.

Things turned for the better eventually though; my mom found this great guy named Paul Blofis (he turned out to be my English teacher in high school, but that's another story) who treated my mom with the proper amount of respect and care that she deserved; that is to say, a queen. They were really happy together and always compromised and fought through the obstacles in life that they had by working together and communicating properly. The kind of love that they share is one-of-a-kind, and I could only hope of attaining that kind of love one day.

Not only did her love life improve, her writing career took off as well. My mother always wanted to be an author, and would tell me unique, and fantastic stories that would always put me on the edge of my seat (or bed, sofa, whatever) and beg for more. She's been a huge role model and inspiration for me, which I guess explains why I'm also dragged into the writing business.

I've just graduated from NYU majoring in writing and am just wandering around, waiting for inspiration to hit me, but unfortunately, have made no progress.

Fortunately, I have a well-paying job as a swimming and fencing instructor at a really cool and awesome camp called Camp-Half-Blood that helps pay for my apartment. I also do a bunch of other odd jobs such as filing letters and papers for Chiron, the camp activities-director. The job is the greatest ever, I guarantee you! The kids are so fun to play with, that is except when the Poseidon Cabin (the camp is based on Greek mythology if you haven't noticed, by the way) is throwing water balloons at you, the Hermes Cabin is stealing from your stuff, or when the Demeter Cabin constantly tries to force feed you cereal. I swear, if I hear the words, "Honey-Nut Cheerios" one more time, I will drown myself in the lake. All of the diabolical schemes aside, it was really fun working with the kids. It's practically like being paid (it's good money considering what the job involves) to have fun.

Actually, I've attended that camp myself when I was younger, and met a lot of my friends over there such as Grover Underwood, Nico DiAngelo (who turned out to be my cousin, according to my mom), Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, Piper McLean, and Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

Being fed up with my getting nowhere, I decided to play some guitar in Central Park. Playing music usually amps my creativity and relaxes me. Plus, if people like my music, then I get some cash from pedestrians. So it's a win-win situation for me.

I got my case and headed out of my apartment. I stepped into the elevator and listened to the Beatles' song, "Somebody" as I traveled down floor after floor until I finally arrived at the lobby. I stepped out into the New York air and inhaled deeply, only to end up coughing later. There's no place like home.

I made the trek to Central Park and found my usual spot on the bench directly in front of the Enchilada vendor. I stopped by first to see my best friend Grover, who happened to run the Enchilada vendor.

He's the shyest and most pleasant guy you'll ever meet, and wouldn't hurt a fly. He was sort of lanky, and had the poofiest Afro that I had ever seen. Fortunately, after years of me staring at the ginger-colored fizz bob up and down while he spoke excitedly, he got the message and decided to get a Rasta cap to cover the unruly mess of hair. It probably would've been better if he chose to trim it a little more.

He had always been there for me no matter what, from Camp, to high school, and even to NYU. He's still in the process of getting his master's degree in Environmental Engineering though, since that's what he really wants to be; you know, helping the wild and nature and all that fun stuff. Since he needed a job to help pay for college and his apartment, he decided to get involved with one of his most favorite things in life: Enchiladas.

"Peeercy!" Grover bleated in my direction. I couldn't help but laugh at his goat-like nature. It was too amusing.

"Hey Grover! How are you doing? And how's the business holding up?" I asked.

"Great! Ever since you've been playing here, more people have been stopping by to get some of my enchiladas, with the occasional question as to when you would be coming by. You my friend, have a lot of fans in this park", he said earnestly.

"Nah man," I said modestly "They just come by to get some of your tasty vegetarian enchiladas. They're healthy and tasty! Seriously man, what's your secret ingredient?"

"Percy, if I said that I wasn't going to tell you the answer to that question the previous nine times that you've relentlessly asked me, then I'm pretty sure that I'm going to refuse to tell you this time as well" Grover answered while rolling his eyes.

"Eh" I shrugged, "It was worth a shot. Hey, I'm going to set up here. When I'm done, let's catch up later with Nico at Starbucks, ok?"

"Yeah, sure. Just let me know when you're done. I'll just be over here serving vegetarian meals that will save the lives of animals around the world!" he said with passion in his voice.

I went on to sit on the bench and pulled out my guitar, while leaving the case open for any folks who felt generous enough to put some money in there. I started to play one of my earlier compositions. It didn't have a title, or any lyrics, but is just a series of chords that I thought went pretty well together. The notes and chords were all there; it just needed some finishing touches. Oh well, maybe I'll would come up with something later.

As I played, people started to congregate at my general location, to stop and stare at my flying fingers and entrancing strums. In the corner of my eye, I could see Grover handing out a lot of enchiladas to people who stopped to listen to me.

Once I finished, people started to applaud. _Am I really that good?_ I wondered. I must've been because everyone started to drop money in my case. Bills, coins, and even boxes of raisins got into my case. A little girl no older than seven approached me and dropped two quarters inside. How cute.

I continued to play some songs on the guitar such as Payphone, It Will Rain, and a bunch of other popular songs on the radio. After about thirty minutes of jamming, I took a look at my watch and decided to call Nico to meet us up and grab Grover to go to Starbucks together.

"Hey man, great performance, these people love you. Enchilada?" Grover offered once he came up to me.

"Thanks Grover," I said grabbing the enchilada, "I'll call up Nico while you close your vendor, and then we'll go ok?"

"Yeah, sure" and he waved me off.

I got out my phone and punch in Nico's number. The phone rang repetitively, and the phone picked up.

"Hello?" croaked a sleepy voice on the other end.

I rolled my eyes and just said, "Death Breath, are you flipping kidding me? It's literally 10:30 right now! What have you been doing that caused you to sleep so late? Don't bother lying, I've been your cousin for so long, I can always tell when you're lying"

Nico is my cousin and one of my best friends. He had jet-black hair like mine, and the darkest brown eyes that you will ever see in your life. His (almost) black eyes could really stare through your soul and intimidate you. He freaked me out when we first met, rambling on about death and dead people whenever I decided to sit next to him. Fortunately, he wasn't as emo or creepy as he made himself to be. He showed his true colors and turned out to be a really fun guy to hang out with, and not to mention really energetic. The guy can hold grudges though, so don't mess with him if you ever stumble upon him, or you'll end up regretting it for the rest of your life.

"Stuff" he stated simply, "now, what do you want?"

"Grover and I were thinking about going to Starbucks to get something and to just chat, want to come?" I asked.

There was a pause, and then he said, "Sure, can I bring Thalia and her friend? Her friend just moved here in the Big Apple from the West Coast, and we're trying to introduce her to more people" Thalia was Nico's girlfriend, and so far they looked really happy together. They first met at the police station where they both worked. They both told me that they had never liked each other from the beginning and would've gladly shot each other with their pistols. However, on one assignment, Nico saved Thalia's life by taking three bullets for her and passed out on top of her. When Nico woke up in the hospital, he and Thalia came on good terms. After that, well, you get the idea…

"Why not? The more the merrier"

"Ok then, see ya", and at that he hung up, leaving me waiting for Grover to finish up. It was taking a while, so inevitably, my ADHD started to act up. Although it's really slight, I still have the tendency to be easily distracted. Right now, I was just gazing at a tree. _What a nice looking tree_… I was so focused on the tree in front of me that I paid no heed to the accelerating blur that crashed into me.

"OW!" we both exclaimed at the same time. Me being the gentleman that my mother raised, I immediately went to the person who crashed into me.

"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" I asked in a concerned voice. I took a quick look at her. She had honey-blonde hair, which was waved into pretty princess-curls, and the most beautiful stormy gray eyes. When I gazed into her eyes, I couldn't help but think that she was already calculating the best way to take me down. I was snapped out of my thoughts when I heard her yell at me.

"What the hell is your problem?!" she fumed. _My problem? She's the one who bumped into me._ The mystery girl continued her outburst, while gesturing to her shirt, "Here I am just trying to get a nice jog around the neighborhood and go see my friend whom I have not seen for a long time, and then you just have to ruin it by smashing your enchilada into my shirt!" I looked at her and gazed at the huge vomitus-colored splotch on her abdomen area. It kind of seemed like a piece of art that Rachel would've loved…

"Hello? Are you listening to me? Now I'm going to look like a complete slob in front of some friends that I'm about to meet, and I don't have time to go back to my apartment and get a new shirt!"

"Apparently, you have the time to yell at me instead…" I mumbled with a hint of annoyance. Apparently, I wasn't quiet enough because she heard me.

"Listen mister, I don't need your sass. Now I don't want to make a bad first impression by showing up in front of new people looking like a slob _and _an inconsiderate and tardy bee-yatch, so I'll just get going" she said sardonically.

At that, she jogged away, ignoring the stares that she was receiving from people passing by, who were thinking that she just puked on her shirt.

"Hey man, I'm ready", said Grover, "Let's go"

I nodded my head in agreement, just wanting to forget those unsettling stormy grey eyes that left a burning impression in my head. _Great, now I'll have nightmares…_ I then told Grover about Thalia and her mystery best friend tagging along, and he seemed cool with it.

We headed to West 57th Street, and went inside. I didn't see Nico, or Thalia, so Grover and I just headed to a table and grabbed some coffee. Well, I got a coffee, Grover got about three cups.

When we sat down, Nico and Thalia came inside, and headed straight towards us.

"Hey man! How are you guys doing?" I said greeting them as they sat down.

"Hey Percy, work's just killing me right now" Nico complained.

"Oh suck it up Nico!" Thalia said as she whacked him in the back of his head. I snickered, knowing that subliminally, she was really saying, 'I love you sweetie', or something of the sort.

Thalia was a girl who could kick your ass in at least 20 different ways in less than 5 seconds. Her obsidian black hair and electric blue eyes also kind of gave off the invisible message that she carried everywhere she went, "Mess with me, and you'll never see the light of day". What a great friend.

"Hey guys, when's your mystery friend showing up?" Grover inquired.

As if on cue, the door opened and then my worst nightmare entered the coffee-scented shop, with her piercing silver eyes scanning the crowd. Her gaze fell upon Thalia, and she approached her.

"Thalia!" she squealed, taking no notice of her table's other occupants.

"Annie!"

"Don't call me that!"

"This is Nico, my boyfriend, Grover Underwood, my boyfriend's friend, and Percy Jackson, the Kelp Head of the group." Thalia said introducing us, ignoring 'Annie's' earlier statement.

Annie, whatever her name was, looked straight at me, and narrowed her eyes in an accusatory fashion.

"You!"

_Aw, damn. I'm screwed._

**AN: Just so you know, I don't own Starbucks, the songs that I stated earlier, or any stuff like that, so don't sue me.**


	2. Shopaholics

**AN: Since I'm not a New Yorker, don't send bloodthirsty assassins after me if I get any facts wrong. If you are not pleased with the chapter, send suggestions or something by reviewing. Remember, I just started doing this literally about a day ago. I should actually be studying for Calculus, but the heck with that. **

**By the way Rick Riordan owns the Percy Jackson Series as well as the Heroes of Olympus, and I am just an aspiring writer hoping to become a great storyteller or novelist. **

"So, how was life in California?" Thalia asked Annabeth while sipping on her latte.

"It was fun. I'll never forget college at UC Berkeley," she replied nostalgically.

After several attempts on my life just seconds after we met, Annabeth decided to finally calm down and enjoy the company of our friends. It turns out that her name was Annabeth Chase and not "Annie". I don't know why, but her name sounded familiar. I also learned that she too had just graduated from college, but in UC Berkeley, majoring in Architecture and was as of the moment, looking for a job in New York, the city of opportunity, and make a name for herself.

We were laughing and joking around, just enjoying ourselves and doing what friends would normally do in a coffee shop.

Annabeth turned to me, "So, what about you? How's life in New York treating you?"

I almost spit out my coffee as I stared at her with curiosity. Moment ago, she was several centimeters from punching me in the face, and now she wants to start a conversation?

"Uh… ok?" I said stupidly.

She just sighed, "Look, I'm sorry for my reaction earlier. I was just kind of stressed out and didn't want to look like a fool in front of some potentially new friends. So, could we just start over?"

Wow, that was unexpected. I mean, moments ago, she was going to murder me in front of the eyes of my compadres and now she's asking for reconciliation? I thought about it.

"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" I asked with a mischievous glint in my eye.

She returned the smile and played along, "Oh dear me, where are my manners? My name is Annabeth Chase. What's your name?"

"My name is Perseus Jackson, but my friends call me Percy." We laughed and continued on in our conversation.

"So, Percy, did you go to college?" she inquired.

"Yeah, I attended NYU with a swimming scholarship, and I absolutely love the water. I just can't get enough of the stuff. I then graduated NYU with degrees in writing and marine biology, both of which I am passionate about."

"So are you're an Author or Marine Biologist?"

"I'm an author. Well, not an official one yet. I haven't written any books yet and I'm having a case of writer's block. So, I was just taking a break, playing guitar in Central Park, where I eventually met you"

There was an awkward pause in the area, and it would've gone longer had our friends in the same table not cooed at us being together.

"Awww… Pewcy and Annabeff found wuv!" Nico said in his most obnoxious little-kid voice ever.

We both denied it at once in unison, "No we're not!" We blushed afterwards.

"Oh really?" Grover retorted with a grin on his freckled face, "your faces say otherwise."

"Dude, we just met like 10 minutes ago, and you're accusing us of being in love?" I asked incredulously. Grover wasn't one to be romantic and such; he was already married to his work.

"_Blaa-ha-ha!_ Haven't you heard of love at first sight?"

"Have you heard of fairy tales? Love at first sight only exists in stories such as those, Grover." I snapped. Ok, maybe that was a little too harsh. After all, Grover was just doing what normal friends do all the time; they just mess around and have fun with each other. However, this subject was kind of a sore one for me. In NYU, I had acquainted myself with a beautiful girl majoring in theater and singing named Calypso, and had naïvely convinced myself that it was love at first sight.

The days we spent together were truly amazing, and I never wanted to leave her side. Unfortunately, once we graduated, she said that her audition for the Broadway musical _Les Mis__é__rables_ was a success, and that the tour was going to be held all over the country. I was really glad for her, but both she and I knew that we couldn't keep a steady relationship while being separated from each other for a long time. However, I didn't want to let her go. Calypso did the honors anyways and broke us up with a text message. That one text message shattered my heart into pieces and I sunk into depression afterwards, though not to the point of insanity or suicide, mind you. But I was pretty close to it…

Eventually, as all broken couples do, I got back on my feet and went on with my life. However, whenever I saw a _Les Mis__é__rables _poster on the Internet, I couldn't help but feel kind of miserable. Wow, that's ironic (get it? Les Misérables and miserable? Forget it…).

After I realized how reprehensible I had sounded, I immediately apologized, "I'm sorry Grover, and it's just that…"

He looked at me with those kind brown eyes of his, "It's ok man. I know what you mean".

While the rest of the table's occupants just looked at Grover and me with curious glances, we just shrugged and went back to our coffee.

After spending about 20 minutes more in the coffee shop, Nico, Thalia, and Grover decided to split because all of them had work to return to. Sucks to be them, I was still technically doing work; I was trying to get rid of my writer's block by living my life and seeing whatever comes and hits me.

I glanced over to Annabeth and saw that her white shirt was still stained with Grover's vegetarian enchilada.

To help make up for it, I said, "Hey, want to go shopping for some new clothes? I can see that your shirt is still dirty and since it was my enchilada that's stained your shirt, I'd like to make it up to you."

I could see that she was about to protest, but I just raised my hand to silence her, "No, I insist. And besides, think of it as us hanging out as friends around the Big Apple."

She surprised me by saying with a devilish smirk, "Oh, I wasn't going to say no Mr. Jackson. I was just going to give you a fair warning that my taste in clothes are very _expensive._" She burst out in playful, yet maniacal, laughter. I found it so funny, I started to join her too.

Man, her laugh is so beautiful. It's like listening to wind chimes in the fall. It's gentle and relaxing to listen to. I shook my head to get these thoughts out. _Bad Percy, BAD!_

The next thing I know, Annabeth is out of her seat and asks me, "Well what are we waiting for? Let's go shopping so I can bleed you dry!" I gulped, seriously hoping that she was kidding.

We went outside, and then the next thing you know, Annabeth did your classic New-York style taxicab whistle and then three cabs line up in front of us.

I was shocked, "How did you know how to do that? Are you sure that you're not a native New Yorker?" I questioned.

Her face turned dark, and I was scared for a moment, but then she just said, "Some things in the world are better left unmentioned. Now get in the cab." I obeyed.

* * *

We went to the Manhattan Mall and entered Aeropostale. The store itself wasn't really expensive, but the quantity of apparel and goodies that she bought (with my money) was enormous!

"Hey Seaweed Brain!" she hollered.

"Seaweed Brain?" I said with a grin, "Where did that come from?"

"Well SB, you said that you loved the water so much, and are clearly infatuated with it. Plus, your reasoning and sensibility skills aren't exactly the greatest, considering the fact that you smeared your enchilada all over me (I still disagree with that) and were actually willing to buy me clothes. Thus, I dub thee 'Seaweed Brain', Seaweed Brain" she said in between laughs. I would not stand for this.

"Oh yeah? Well you're just a… just a… uh…"

"Yes Seaweed Brain?"

"Um… Just give me time to get back at you! I will concoct a more superior nickname than 'Seaweed Brain' for you eventually! Just you wait!" I promised.

"Yeah, that'll be the day. When dearest SB finally beats the undefeatable Annabeth Chase in a nickname contest!" she teased. I just pouted like a little child. She giggled, and took us to the cash register to pay for our (or should I say _her_) clothes.

Annabeth was wearing a grey shirt that matched her eyes (which I still found terrifying by the way), some blue jeans, and a sea-green parka over it all. To top it off, she wore a cute, white beanie over her head. She looked amazing, but hey, they say that beauty doesn't come cheap. My wallet could say the same thing.

Turns out, the total was close to about three hundred dollars. _Why must women have to spend so much money on clothes?_ I mentally groaned. Nonetheless, after reluctantly handing the money to the clerk, we exited the store and decided on our next destination in our Amazing Tour of New York.

After debating whether we should go to Madison Square Garden or the Metropolitan Museum of Art (guess who argued for what?), Annabeth won and we headed off the Museum.

I had bad experiences at the Museum. You see, I used to attend this boarding school called Yancy Academy full of troubled kids in the dark ages of my life, and one time I was looking around at some artifacts in the Greek and Roman section closer than I should've been. The pre-algebra teacher Mrs. Dodds (I feel sorry for whatever poor sap married her) came up behind my back and barked at me, startling me. At that, I freaked out and toppled over some really ancient and valuable ceramic bowl, which then shattered into a thousand pieces. My first thoughts? They should've put a bulletproof case around it.

Of course, I thought that it was a sting operation or something set up by Mrs. Dodds because I saw her smirking, as if delighted by my getting caught in trouble. I knew she never liked me in the first place. However, in a weird series of events, the other teacher chaperone, Mr. Brunner somehow convinced the curators that the broken pot was mostly Mrs. Dodds' fault, and that I was merely a student taking in the beauty and splendor of ancient Greek pottery, who had been startled by a careless teacher who also happened to harbor a grudge against me since day 1 for no apparent reason. Museums took the word "careless" very seriously, so they penalized Mrs. Dodds more heavily than they did to me. Don't ask me questions as to how he somehow managed to pull off that miracle, because I'll never know.

Anyways, the museum eventually decided that I should be expelled (immediately) from Yancy, and that Mrs. Dodds should pay for the expense of the broken artifact. I got off easy. Really easy. However, I would've preferred not getting expelled. My mom couldn't get a refund from the school, and this was the time before my mom got rich from publishing her books; it was the time when we were still struggling with money problems.

I vowed to never return there again, but hey, look at me now. I'm being practically dragged up the steps to the museum by a short, yet surprisingly strong-gripped woman.

We got to the admissions booth and waited in the line. When it was our turn in the queue, I reached into my wallet faster than she did and ended up paying for her admission as well. Why I did that after having to pay for about $300 in clothes that weren't even mine for this stranger that I had only met for less than an hour? That question continues to elude me today.

The pretty lady on the counter, who looked around our age, gave us what we needed and sent us on our merry way. I was taking a look at the brochures that she gave us, and saw that in between them, was a folded up piece of paper with her number on it.

When the lady from the counter wasn't looking, I threw it in the trash. I thought I saw Annabeth smile after I did that.

After getting in, we started to go around the museum, looking at different kinds of art, which Rachel could tell all, and I mean all, of the facts related to the painting or sculpture, or whatever. However, Annabeth assumed Rachel's role as the walking guide to the many things that I don't know about art during my time there. Turns out, she minored in art (including art history) in UC Berkeley.

Eventually, Annabeth said that she was thirsty and had to use the bathroom. I couldn't blame her though, considering how much she talked on and on about the paintings and sculptures in the halls of which I had no idea about. Not to mention, she also literally swept me off my feet when pulling me up the museum steps with the power and speed of a locomotive.

I was still waiting for Annabeth and then I saw her getting out of the bathroom looking for me. I was getting up and also saw that a random blonde-haired stranger was sneaking up to her from behind.

There weren't many people around, and the man looked like he was up to no good. He approached her and grabbed her behind her back and then she shrieked.

Me being the paranoid man I am, started to think of the worst possible scenario that could happen. So without delay, I rushed up to the two and shoved (quite forcefully, if I might add) the random stranger away from Annabeth.

"Stay away from her ya mook!" I fumed.

"Percy, you Seaweed Brain!" she exclaimed in frustration. She smacked me upside my head so hard, that my world was shaking for about three seconds. She didn't stop there though. She also threw a couple of punches at my shoulder, and let me tell you this, that that girl can hit _really_ hard.

"OW!" I cried out in pain, but mostly disbelief. Here I was, saving her from the clutches of some unknown stranger, and the thanks that I get in return is a beating?

"Seaweed Brain! That was my younger brother Malcolm! He's attending Columbia University here in New York and I haven't happened to see him in a while!"

"But what about him creeping up on you?"

"He wanted to surprise me dumbass." she retorted sardonically.

Okay now, I felt incredibly stupid…

I walked over to Malcolm, and apologized sheepishly, "I'm sorry for shoving you like that, I was just really worried about Annabeth". In the corner of my eye, I could've sworn I saw Annabeth blush. But then again, it was probably because of the anger that she held against me for shoving her (sort of) long-lost brother.

Malcolm shrugged it off, "It's cool man. It's nice to know that Annabeth's boyfriend wouldn't let anyone hurt her."

"He/She isn't my boyfriend/girlfriend!" we said at the same time.

"Oh, you're not? Well, you sure looked like… ummm… Well, ok then. Hey, Annabeth, want to catch up or something at the café?" he asked.

"Of course! Come on Percy, let's go!"

_Why do these kinds of things happen to me?_ I thought miserably. It was official; I absolutely HATE museums… Period…

**AN: I don't own any of the things that happen to be copyrighted here mentioned in this story, such as Aeropostale, Manhattan Mall, Starbucks, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and a bunch of other fun stuff like that. Keep reading, and review! I really want to know what you guys think about my writing and would appreciate it if you would tell me on how I could improve my writing! You could also include any suggestions for the plot and stuff like that in the story, and maybe it'll show up later! Great… Now I have to study for finals… Bye!**


	3. Empty

**AN: Well, it's a miracle I managed to update this chapter despite finals week coming up. Anyone here hate AP European History? I know I do… But enough with the rants, I just wanted to say that since this a female point of view, I'm going to need some help on the psychological makeup of the female mind. So if you happen to have any formula that will somehow make me understand girls or something, I'd appreciate it XP.**

**Anyways, I just want to thank my reviewers and followers! You've helped inspire me to write as fast as possible… Even if I should be studying for finals… So yeah, thanks and a big shout out to all of my readers for motivating me to work harder!**

**However, just a heads up, I won't be updating for give or take three days or something. It was a miracle I could do this chapter with finals going on and everything...**

**Also, remember to review to tell me as to how I could improve my writing. If this chapter doesn't seem good to you guys, it's most likely because I'm kind of distracted with finals week and all that fun stuff (note the sarcasm)**

**BTW, Rick Riordan owns all of the characters and whatnot for Percy Jackson and the Olympians. I am merely a storyteller… Blah blah blah… ON WITH THE STORY!**

**(Annabeth POV)**

I was engaged in a conversation with my brother Malcolm at a Café in the Metropolitan Museum with Percy looking at us awkwardly, like he knew that he wasn't supposed to be here or something.

Percy was a really handsome guy; I'll give him that. He had ebony, windswept hair, happened to fall in just the right places. However, it was his eyes that caught my attention the most. His sea-green eyes always had me mesmerized; they would swirl and change shades according to his mood. Like when he shoved Malcolm away from me, thinking that he was a molester or who knows what, his eyes were dark and almost scary to look at. But whenever he's calm and/or having fun, his eyes turn to the color of the ocean at its calmest, which in turn somehow calms me down.

Anyways, so Malcolm and I were chatting away, catching up to make up for three years of not seeing each other. Malcolm apparently loved Columbia University, just as I had loved being in UC Berkeley. He loved his studies, his professors, his dorm, etc. and was actually considering living here permanently. In case you were curious, Malcolm was also a major in architecture.

I told Malcolm about why I came here to New York and that I was staying at an apartment not too far from Central Park. I gave him the address and told him to stop by whenever he wanted to.

"So why didn't you call me or something to let me know that you were coming?" Malcolm asked, feigning hurt.

I rolled my eyes, "I couldn't smartass. You changed your phone number and didn't bother to give the new one to anyone back home. Plus, you don't have a Facebook, and you've never bothered to check your email for the past four months."

My brother just looked embarrassed and muttered a sheepish apology.

"How's Thalia?" Malcolm asked "I haven't seen her in a while because of my studies". Percy's eyes shot up in surprised and looked like he was about to spit out his yogurt parfait, which he happened to be eating right now.

I smiled and replied, "She's doing well, and she's changed so much since the last time we saw her." I thought sadly of the time we had to leave New York. Yes, I admit it, I'm not originally from California; I was born a New Yorker and lived here for about twelve years, probably one of the worst years of my life.

I felt sorry for Percy, knowing that he was being left out of the group dynamic, so I said, "Did you know that she has a boyfriend now? Percy here will tell you."

I could kind of tell that it was awkward for him to be suddenly thrust into a conversation after sitting in silence and watching two people talk for about twenty minutes. Nonetheless, he responded.

"Um, she's doing well. She's my cousin's girlfriend and they seem to be very happy together" he said.

Before I could continue on in our conversation, Percy questioned, "How do you know Thalia, Malcolm?"

My eyes twinkled, and so did Malcolm's. "She was our best friend in grade school and middle school. Malcolm and I would always hang out with her and she was the most loyal friend anyone could ask for. If someone was bothering you, she would kick their Asses and wouldn't care if she got in trouble". Percy just nodded his head in agreement, as if to say that that was a totally Thalia-like thing to do of her.

"It was hard for us to leave her when we ra-" I cut Malcolm off.

"-moved! It was hard for us to leave her when we moved." That was close. Any further, Malcolm would've given away who we were. I couldn't stand the looks people gave me whenever they heard of the famous Chase siblings. They would range from looks of shock to looks of pity. I hated pity; it made me feel inferior to them, and I hated the feeling of inferiority more than being looked at with pity.

Malcolm realized his mistake, and excused himself before he could give away our identities any further.

"Well, I'm just going to go back to work. My boss won't be exactly ecstatic at the thought of me not doing what I'm supposed to be doing. Nice to meet you Percy." After giving me his updated phone number, he left us at our table.

"So, want to go on exploring the museum?" I proposed.

"But my legs are tired…" Percy complained like an 8-year-old. I couldn't help but giggle at his child-like demeanor; it was too cute.

Percy seemed pleased with that, and got out of his seat, letting me lead the way on our grand tour of all things "artsy".

"So," Percy began extending the 'o', "I knew that you weren't a native Californian, you were a native New Yorker all along", he said triumphantly.

My gaze darkened. I hated thinking about my past in New York.

"Yeah, it didn't really matter, so I just ignored it"

"That was a pretty sick taxi-cab whistle that you pulled off there, though"

I looked at him and said, "Thanks. Oh look! It's _Starry Night,_ by Vincent Van Gogh! Do you know him Percy?"

He just had a blank look on his face, "You mean the dude who cut off his ear?"

I mentally face-palmed, "Yes Percy, but he was famous for more things than simply cutting off his ear. You see…" I droned on and on about various facts about Van Gogh, from his works, the meaning of his paintings, his biography, the hardships he dealt with, and even why he cut off his ear.

But of course, being the Seaweed Brain he is, Percy's just eyes glazed over and was simply staring at the wall, as if the white shade of the wall was more beautiful than the masterpiece in front of us.

"Seaweed Brain, are you even listening?" I demanded.

His eyes snapped back into focus, and merely retorted, "Sorry, it's not my fault that you're such a Wise girl all the time." For some apparent reason, he gasped and snapped his fingers excitedly, "I know what I'll call you from now on! 'Wisegirl'! How's that for a nickname?"

I just laughed at his sad attempt to come up with a good nickname for me.

His eyebrows scrunched up in confusion, probably wondering why I was laughing all of a sudden.

"Oh Seaweed Brain, that was just sad. _Wisegirl_? Seriously?" I asked.

"Well, I think that it's the perfect name, so HA!"

I just laughed in response to that comment as well. I looked at his pouting face. _Wow, he looks really cute…_ I shook my head. _No! Bad Annabeth. BAD!_

Percy looks at me in concern, "Hey are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Let's just go somewhere else, since our time here is clearly wasted since you're not getting any learning experience from this at all."

"Finally!"

* * *

Later, Nico called Percy and told us that he got a promotion in the NYPD, and wanted to treat us dinner, since he was feeling quite generous.

I asked whether it was ok to invite Malcolm, and Nico consented.

When we got to the restaurant, we found Nico, Thalia, and Malcolm waiting for us. Grover had school stuff to take care of, so he couldn't go.

We told them of our hangout today, and all of the eventful things that happened. After we teased each other with our respective nicknames, Thalia, Nico, and even Malcolm just stared at us and asked whether we were absolutely sure that we weren't a couple. They just love to tease me nonstop, day after day don't they? I love those guys…

Eventually, Nico ended up paying the bill for all of us, which we were all quite happy about. After saying our goodbyes, we went our separate ways back to our homes.

Percy and I went in the same direction, and I could only assume that his apartment was in the same vicinity as mine, so we made small talk on the way.

When we finally approached the building, Percy and I were still walking in the same direction. A variety of thoughts were swimming in my head. Was Percy stalking me? Did he think that I was weak and I couldn't handle myself in New York at night? Anger was bubbling inside of me, and I was fed up with him when he followed me to the elevator.

"What are you still doing here?" I snapped in a snarky tone.

"What are _you_ still doing here?" he retaliated and pressed the number 16, "this is my apartment complex".

Realization dawned upon me. _Well what do you know? Dearest Seaweed Brain and I are neighbors. What a small world._

The next thing I knew, I heard Seaweed Brain humming, "It's a Small World After All". Wow, that was creepy.

When the elevator stopped at my floor (floor 12), Percy walked in with me.

"Um, hey, I just want to say it was really nice meeting you, and that we should do this again sometime soon…" Percy said awkwardly, while rubbing the back of his neck.

I giggled and said, "Sure".

There was an awkward pause, and before I could lose the nerve, I stepped up towards him, and hugged him.

He was shocked initially, but then he relaxed into my arms, and began to return the hug. It was like our bodies were meant for each other. We melded into each other like a lock and key. Two pieces of a whole.

I then broke the hug and said, "Goodnight. See you tomorrow Seaweed Brain"

He stared at me with those beautiful eyes and also said, "Goodnight".

I opened the door and walked into my apartment, feeling butterflies in my stomach as I thought about our hug and Percy's beautiful green eyes looking at me when he said goodnight.

My apartment wasn't too filled, considering I just moved here not too long ago, and I didn't have many belongings in the first place anyways.

Therefore, I only took my most portable and valuable things with me here in Manhattan. I stepped into my room and saw only a desk, a bookshelf with some books (fiction and nonfiction), and other things of sentimental value. However, the pinnacle of all these cherished items was the picture in the center of it all.

I took another look at the picture, even though I had already seen it for at least 5 million times. The picture was taken at the St. Louis Arch, and I saw a 12-year-old version me, an 11-year-old Malcolm, with a 15-year-old boy standing right in the middle. The boy had sandy-blonde hair, and baby-blue eyes.

I was on his back, giving him bunny ears behind his head, laughing as I did so. The boy looked annoyed, but I could tell that he was just pretending and was laughing on the inside. Malcolm was pointing at the two of us and had a look on his face that clearly said, "Can you believe those two?" But his smirk gave it away, and I knew that he was enjoying this as much as we were.

I thought back to when this picture was taken.

(10 years ago…)

_I was fiddling with my digital camera, one of the few things from home that I took with me when I left home. People looked at us, wondering where our parents were. But the thing is, we didn't have parents. We were runaways, and decided that we were better off anywhere (we didn't care where) as far away as possible from our "homes". We were approaching Missouri via bus, and sooner or later, we began to see the famous Gateway arch. _

_Since architecture was a passion of mine, I knew practically anything (and I mean anything) about architecture in the world, and have always dreamed to visit any architectural feats and monuments anywhere I went. I saw the arch and my eyes widened in both surprise and delight. _

_I jumped up and down in my seat and turned to the person next to me, and begged, "Luke! May we go to the Gateway Arch? Please?" extending the 'e'. _

_Luke turned to me and looked at me with his kind blue eyes, and smiled, "Come on Annie, don't you want to go to California?"_

_It was time to use the big guns; I gave him the puppy-dog eyes, "PLEASE?" I asked again. _

_It wasn't long until Luke's resolve broke and acquiesced, "Fine Annie, you win this round." He turned around and said to Malcolm, who was in his seat reading _"Oliver Twist", _"Hey Malcolm, we're going to go to the Gateway Arch, ok?"_

_Malcolm's expression matched mine and he looked as excited as I was and gave a delightful "man-scream" as he called it. Boys…_

* * *

_The bus dropped us off and we saw the magnificent beauty known as the Gateway Arch. _

_I couldn't help but stare at it in awe and whisper, "wow…" _

_Luke heard me and said, "Yeah, it's pretty cool. Come on, let's get going" and motioned for us to get a move on._

_I stopped him and exclaimed, "Luke! Come on! We should at least take a picture here, you know, to preserve the memories of the good times we had"_

_He feigned exasperation, "Alright Annie. Just one picture though, ok?"_

_I nodded my head vigorously, and stopped a random passer-byer, and asked, "Excuse me ma'am, but would you mind taking a picture of us together?"_

"_Why of course not sweetie! Come on children! Gather around so I can take your photo" she ordered._

_I jumped onto Luke's back, and he gave a faint "Oomph", and I just snickered at him, while Malcolm just rolled his eyes and pointed at us with his, "Can you believe those two?" look._

"_Say cheese!" At that, I brought out my fingers and gave Luke a nice pair of bunny ears in the picture. We heard the click of the camera and I dismounted from Luke's back._

"_Wait! I think I blinked!" Malcolm complained. We all laughed together, and made our way inside after thanking the lady who took our picture. I knew that this was how family was supposed to be like and I only hoped that this family would stay permanent, unlike my last one…_

* * *

As I reminisced the good old days, I felt tears streaking down my cheeks. _No_, I thought, _Annabeth Chase does __not__ cry._ But of course, I couldn't help myself. The loss of the one and only true family that I had in my life was too painful; remembering what I lost was too heartbreaking to think about for even just a second. Sure I still had Malcolm, but Luke was the glue that held us together in our group. He would stop our arguments and fights, and with his assistance, we would make up and act as if nothing happened.

Before I could help myself, I plopped down on my bed and sobbed hysterically, my cries echoing throughout my empty apartment. _Empty_, just like the current state of my heart as I shed tears on my pillow. _Empty_, constantly reminding me of how lonely I was in the world. Empty was simply a word to sum up my life and how I felt right now. _Empty… Empty… Empty…_

**AN: Sorry it took a while to update, I had something called, "I couldn't think of the right way to tell the story even though I have the idea. This is one of the reasons I claim to be a terrible writer; because I can't really "translate", for lack of a better term, my thoughts and ideas on to paper. So this is how authors feel like eh? Anyways, I don't own anything here that is copyrighted or whatever such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, UC Berkeley, Columbia, etc.**

**By the way, if any authors out there reading this have any problems similar to mine or just simply writer's block, I just found the best solution! Three words: Take a shower. I kid you not, this was how I got rid of my obstacles in writing no longer than 20 minutes ago. **


	4. Replacement

**AN: I don't own anything Percy Jackson related, and all of the stuff is rightfully Rick Riordan's. **_**Hmph…**_

**Just a fair warning, I don't know how weddings work, so don't hate on me if I happen to have any details wrong.**

**And check out my poll on my profile to help me decide what my **_**next story**_** should be! (I don't plan to end this story any time soon [it's probably going to be around the 30-50 chapter mark or something, I don't know] I just want to know what you guys think and help me get ready! Turns out I love writing!)**

**Oh well, on with the story…**

_I was at the end of an aisle somewhere on the beach. Not just any beach, my favorite beach: Montauk Beach. I looked around trying to get my bearings and I saw white decorations everywhere, flowers, a wedding cake, a wedding conductor next to me on my right, and Grover on my left._

_As soon as I heard the tune for, "Here Comes the Bride", I realized what was going on; I was getting married! I didn't know what to do frankly. I mean, this had to be a dream; the only girlfriend I ever had was Calypso and we broke up pretty recently. Calypso… _Could she be my bride? _ I thought hopefully. Maybe we made up, and got together again!_

_The next thing I knew everyone was standing up, and I began to realize that the bride was coming. The bride's face was covered in a veil, so I couldn't tell if it was Calypso or not. The man walking her down the aisle was Malcolm. _That's weird_, I thought. Maybe Calypso was related to Malcolm somehow…_

_In no time at all, Malcolm handed me my beautiful bride (I could just tell she was beautiful, ok?) and headed to sit down on a nearby seat._

_The wedding conductor then began to start the ceremony, and spoke in a monotone voice. Blah blah blah, and then he began the "I dos"_

"_I do", I said with affirmation._

"_I do", I heard my bride say as well, in a tone equally confident. Wait, the voice didn't sound like Calypso's… So, I wasn't marrying my ex-girlfriend. But who was the woman behind the veil? Her voice sounded familiar…_

_The next thing you know, the wedding conductor said, "You may now kiss the bride"_

_I eagerly tore off the veil, and saw myself face to face with… None other than Annabeth Chase (or should I say Jackson?). I was quite close to screaming out loud, but there was something stopping me. Was it her mesmerizing stare? Was it the way she looked at me with such intense and genuine love that I had once thought was impossible to attain (with the exception of perhaps my mother and Paul)? I had no answers, but the way she looked at me gave me the general idea that in this alternate setting, we were in love with each other very much, and we both knew it._

_Because of peer pressure I guess, I smashed my lips against Annabeth's. The kiss was unlike any other kiss that I had ever received before in my life. Not even my kisses with Calypso could compare to the amount of love and passion hidden in that one kiss. It was actually like the hug that I had received from Annabeth when we said goodbye; it felt like her lips were meant to be placed on mine. It just felt right…_

_Maybe marrying her wouldn't be too bad after all._

_When we broke apart, I heard cheers and even some crying from the crowd in the background, but ignored them. I was too busy looking at her eyes. My wife as of five seconds ago, looked at me with those beautiful grey eyes, and as of the moment, they looked so peaceful and gentle._

_She smiled and opened her mouth to say something. I leaned in eagerly to listen to what she had to say. She then screeched, "_**BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!**"

* * *

I woke up in my room screaming, flailed my arms around, and fell out of my bed onto the hard wooden floor. _Oof…_

Not the best way to start out your day.

I muttered profanities and cursed the alarm clock for being so obnoxious as I made my way to the other side of the bed to turn it off. I felt better when I smashed it to pieces with my bare hands.

Good news: I got revenge. Bad news: I need to buy a new alarm clock. I guess people are right when they say that revenge doesn't solve anything. But it felt damn good to shatter the thing though.

I made my way to my shower and felt the refreshing feeling of warm water trickling down my skin. Being in the water always helped me to relax and just think for a moment. _What did that dream mean? Do I like Annabeth? Does she like me?_ Questions flew past my mind and I couldn't come up with a proper answer to any of them. I just gave up thinking about it after I stepped out of the shower. My dream probably meant nothing. _It was just a dream…_ I kept on telling myself.

After my shower, I did whatever normal 22-year-old man living alone in his apartment would do. I brushed my teeth, did my morning shave, and cooked some eggs and bacon for breakfast. I then plopped onto my couch and turned on the TV and watched _SpongeBob Squarepants._ What a great show.

When Squidward was in the middle of yelling at SpongeBob for being an incompetent fool, my phone rang.

Reluctantly, I reached out to get it and answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Peter Johnson." Said the voice on the other end. Oh gosh, only one person in the world would call me that after knowing me for about nine consecutive years.

"Hey Mr. D, how are you doing?"

"None of your business brat!" he snapped. I still didn't know why he was so irate and indignant all the time. But if my sources were true, Mr. D got in trouble with Zeus for trying to seduce this one model non-stop. After the company she worked for threatened to sue, Zeus decided to send him to Camp Half-Blood as the camp's director for about 10 years to make him "think about what he did".

* * *

**Let's pause right here for a sec…**

If you don't know who Mr. D or Zeus are, then clearly you don't spend any time watching, reading, or even listening to the news. But it's ok if you don't; I'll just give you the brief summary. I suppose I should start with Olympus Inc.…

Olympus Inc. is basically the corporation of all corporations, and its services branch out into so many areas, so it's kind of hard to classify it into a certain "type" of company. It had 13 leading members (think of them as co-CEOs) who all were heads of their own divisions, and they basically owned and managed the company together.

Member #1: Zeus. He's the head CEO (in other words, he's the big guy in the organization, or the "boss of bosses" if you will). He owns airlines and electricity plants all over the world.

Member #2: Poseidon. He practically owns the ocean and everything even remotely related to it, from boating companies to fishing companies. He also owns an Olympic equestrian training center.

Member #3: Hades. He owns a lot of mining companies, hospitals, mortuaries, morgues, graveyards, and even coffin-making businesses.

Member #4: Hera. She is the wife of Zeus and owns several marriage counseling businesses around the USA. This fact itself is pretty ironic considering that Zeus always cheats on Hera, and I mean _always_. I suppose she never got a divorce with him because it'd be bad for her image or something.

Member #5: Demeter. She owns a lot of farms and the most successful cereal companies ever in the world.

Member #6: Ares. He owns weapons factories and shops, and motorcycle companies. (In his spare time, he even designs new weapons, and sells them exclusively to the government. Think of Iron Man, and you've got the picture.)

Member #7: Athena. She owns one of the most successful publishing and architecture companies in the world.

Member #8: Apollo. He owns the best top-of-the-line brand of sunblock and suntan lotions, sunglasses, sports cars, owns a famous record company, and runs an Olympic archery-training center with his twin sister Artemis.

Member #9: Artemis. She, along with her twin brother Apollo, runs the Olympic archery-training center, but only trains girls. She also owns a lot of national parks and is mainly involved with regulating hunting.

Member #10: Hephaestus. He owns some engineering companies and is responsible for many of the world's most useful and famous inventions. He can literally build, fix, and dismantle anything.

Member #11: Aphrodite. She owns top-of-the-line brands for cosmetics, designer clothes, accessories, and even some chocolate factories. (Anything to do with love, Aphrodite's your girl.)

Member #12: Hermes. He's owns many mailing and shipping companies, and pharmacies across the world.

Member #13: Dionysus (Mr. D). He owns a lot of vineyards as well as the most popular brands of wine. He also the best psychologist in the nation (I don't understand how that works since he enjoys relentlessly torments kids in camp… or perhaps just kids in general…)

Anyways, moving on, the heads of the company (Olympians as they call themselves) were great friends growing up and were really just one big family.

However, despite the different and distinct fields that they each were separately occupied with, they all had a common involvement: Camp Half-Blood. All of the Olympians felt that gifted and talented children should be congregated and have a place where they could accumulate skills that would be useful in their lives. We do that, and also do some really fun sports and activities ranging from volleyball to "monster hunting". I personally thought that it was a great idea.

The camp had 13 cabins, each representing a Greek god, like a mascot. The camp counselors would judge every camper on their individual talents, and attributes. Once they finished their judgment, they would send that child to a certain cabin that best fit their personality and gifts and put them there.

Guess where I was put in? That's right, the Poseidon cabin. I suppose the counselors took my love of water and all marine life into consideration when they judged me. But that's beside the point. The point is, I work there now as a camp counselor for the Poseidon cabin.

**Anyways, back to Mr. D's phone call…**

* * *

"Now listen here Jorgensen, I need you to do something for me. If you don't do it, you're fired." Ok, now I was listening.

"Do you remember Lexie, the Athena counselor? Yeah, she decided to go off and pursue a higher education at Stanford University… The nerve of some people! Anyways, I need you to find me a temporary counselor for the Athena cabin before I can hire a new one in about two days tops, _capiche?_" he demanded.

I was kind of relieved. I wouldn't lose my job if I'd just find someone to replace Lexie for at least two days, right? However, the fact that Mr. D was making me do such trivial things for him, just so he could sip on his wine and sit on his fat, lazy butt all day playing Pac-man made me grit my teeth.

"Yeah, sure Mr. D. I'll take care of it." I said begrudgingly.

Thankfully, Mr. D didn't catch my tone and said, "Now off you go Johansson! Just make sure that the temporary counselor is really smart and wouldn't be easily intimidated by the big-brained brats in the Athena cabin, ok?" and without so much as a good-bye, Mr. D hung up. Pleasant guy right?

I sat back in my couch and started thinking of potential counselors for the Athena cabin. Mr. D said that s/he had to be really smart. The most qualified people for the job I could think of were Daedalus, Odysseus (Odie for short), George, and Annabeth. Yes, Annabeth. Even though I've only known her for literally a day, I already knew that she was one to never back down and had a crazy IQ. Well, she fits both of the prerequisites, so I decided to ask her.

I went outside of my apartment, and went to the stairs to go to the 12th floor. When I finally arrived, I knocked on the door several times. Ten seconds later, Annabeth opened the door and I was shocked by her appearance. She was still in her attire from yesterday, her eyes looked really tired, like she had been crying all night or something, and her hair was a rat's nest. "Distressed" was the one word I could think of to describe her right now.

"Percy?" she moaned groggily, "What time is it?"

"Uh, it's around 8 o'clock. Annabeth are you all right? You don't look so good" I asked concernedly.

"Thanks" she said sarcastically.

"Oh no! I didn't mean that! I just meant to say… um… uh…" I stammered.

She just laughed at me, "I'm messing with you Seaweed Brain. What's up?"

"It's probably going to take a while for me to tell you. Do you mind if I come inside?"

"Of course not, come on in." and at that, she gestured for me to step inside. When I entered the apartment, it was kind of surprising to see it so… empty… There weren't many things here. But I suppose she had more stuff to come on the way, right? I mean, she's only been here for about two days or something by now right?

I sat down in her couch, and she did the same.

I began, "So Annabeth, do you know what my job is?"

"You said that you were an author", she answered.

"Well, not yet exactly. I have yet to make a book first. Stupid writer's block…" I muttered.

She just smirked and sighed in an endearing tone, "Oh, Seaweed Brain".

"Yeah. Anyways, to pay my bills, I work at a place called Camp Half-Blood. It's this really cool place where a bunch of gifted kids from ages 6-18 develop…"

Annabeth cut me off saying, "Yeah, I've heard of it. I'm a native New Yorker, remember? I was actually going to go to that place, but my dad-" she stopped herself abruptly.

"What about your dad?" I asked curiously.

She shook her head, "the point is, that I've heard of it and I know what it is. So what does this have to do with your visit?"

"Ok…" I said suspiciously. Damn, this girl could be so mysterious.

I continued on, "Well, I'm assuming that you know about the counselors?" she nodded her head in response, "Well, the Athena counselor, Lexie, is leaving to go to Stanford University."

"That's good for her"

"Yeah, well the camp director, Mr. D, isn't too happy about it, and he needs to find someone to replace her, but asked me to find a temporary counselor to fill in for her absence. So, I was wondering whether you would like to be the Athena counselor for about two days tops?" I asked rather hopefully.

She thought about it, and that was when I started to get afraid. I mean I had to get a (temporary) counselor for him. Otherwise, I'd be fired!

I tried to persuade her, albeit inarticulately, "Come on! It's going to be really fun! The kids there are great… That is, when they aren't trying to kill you in really original and various ways (I almost choked to death when the Demeter kids tied me up and stuffed cereal in my mouth at a really fast rate. It's a long story). Wait, did I just say that out loud? NO! I meant to say that they're the most perfect little angels! And… And… And…" I rambled on.

Annabeth was too busy on the floor laughing (literally) to acknowledge what I was saying. After recovering for about a minute, she got up and said, "You need to stop talking sometimes, Seaweed Brain. But in answer to your previous question, yeah, sure. My first job interview doesn't happen until about three days, so that's perfect timing. Besides, someone needs to make sure that _you're_ staying out of trouble"

I pouted, "Hey! I'm not _that_ much of a troublemaker…"

She gave me that look.

"Ok, so maybe I am, a little…"

She continued to look at me.

"Shut up…" I grumbled.

She giggled and then we looked into each other's eyes. _Her eyes…_ I observed. I became lost in them, and suddenly remembered my dream from this morning. The same questions that I had in the shower came flooding back as well, but one question stood out the most. _Do I like Annabeth Chase as more than a friend?_

I shook my head to get rid of the thought, and scolded myself for being so ridiculous. We've only met each other yesterday, so how could I already have feelings for her? It was merely an impulsive and ridiculous thought.

Apparently we were staring at each other for a while, but then Annabeth snapped out of it first and asked, "So when do we start?"

"At 9:00. The camp is about 30 minutes away. I'm going to get my things, and I'm going to come back here, so get changed, and we'll go together."

**AN: I don't own anything here that happens to be copyrighted; I'm just using to help write my story. **

**My precious readers! I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me by reviewing A.) If you liked the story B.) If you hated the story C.) How I could improve my writing D.) What you liked the most about my story so far (your favorite parts ranging from Percy playing guitar to cereal-obsessed Demeter campers) E.) Just want to say anything related to the story or my writing skills…**


	5. Past

**AN: I just want to thank all of my readers for reading this far into my story! It means a lot. Also, I can't believe that people would actually like my writing. It's a truly amazing feeling you know? **

**Yeah, I know that I haven't updated in a while, but I had a valid reason. I was up in the mountains snowboarding with my family and friends, but the hotel didn't have free Internet, so I couldn't update. Not to mention because I busted my wrist snowboarding in the mountains, I can't type as fast or even play guitar. GRRR! I HATE HAVING A BUSTED WRIST! (Especially if it is my right one… -_-*)**

**By the way, I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians whatsoever. I am just using the characters and a few fundamental aspects of the story to tell my own story… or something…**

**(Annabeth POV)**

As Percy drove his Prius on the streets of New York, I couldn't help but reflect on how different New York seemed the last time I remembered it. Yet, it wasn't that different at all. I saw my favorite ice cream shop growing up as a kid, the bookstore where I went to daily to immerse myself in the comfort of reading books, and even the McDonalds restaurant where Malcolm, Thalia, and I would just hang out and make fun of weird-looking pedestrians passing by.

However, one place stood out above all the rest; it was the alleyway where Malcolm and I had met Luke. My lips curved up into a bittersweet smile. It was the start of our first family. Sooner or later, I fell asleep… (I didn't have much sleep, ok?)

_(10 Years Ago…)_

_I was cleaning the house with my eleven-year-old brother Malcolm. That's all we seemed to be in the family; we were just the family maids and servants. At least Malcolm and I could get through it together as a team. If it were just Malcolm or I individually, well, the results wouldn't be pretty. The penalties were pretty harsh._

_I just wanted to escape from this awful place. I had an opportunity, but it slipped through my fingers. Scouts from Camp Half-Blood came to Malcolm and me and offered a place at their Camp. We eagerly accepted, but our father and stepmother refused to consent. They needed a cheap labor force to be there for their every need, so they refused to let us go. We were abysmally disappointed._

"_Annabeth!" shouted a shrill voice, "Come over here! I need you to make me a sandwich!" I rolled my eyes. My stepmother couldn't be any more obnoxious. The funny thing is, I didn't really know her name; she always made me and Malcolm call her "Your Highness" or Mrs. Chase on a good day. I guess she wanted to be called "Mrs. Chase" because it reminded her and us that she was now the most important woman in my dad's life, and no one else._

_I wished my mom were here. Malcolm and I were "full-blooded" siblings, offspring from my dad and "she-whom-shall-not-be-named". My dad never talked about her, which only heightened my curiosity. I wanted to know more about my and Malcolm's mom. But the last time I had asked him that question, he smacked me on the head (hard), and just shouted at me to go back to my chores and never mention her again. I was pretty miserable._

_I was thinking these thoughts as I was making my stepmother's sandwich. When I made my way up the stairs and into her room, there was no one there. _She must be in another room,_ I thought. In my search for her, I peeked into my father's study._

_When I entered the room, there was something off about the place. There were boxes everywhere, and everything in the room was packed into a box. That is, except for my father's desk, his laptop, and journal. _What was going on?_ I wondered. Hopefully I could get answers somewhere here; if I had asked my dad, he would just hit my head and shout at me for being so nosy. Maybe there would be answers in his laptop or journal._

_I opened his journal, and looked at the most recent entry, and it said as follows:_

Dear Journal,

I am writing this entry to just say that I have had enough. I've had enough of those kids, Annabeth and Malcolm. I might be unreasonable, but I can't stand to even look at those two; they remind me too much of their mother. I remember her startling grey eyes, which always shone with intelligence. I miss the times where we would get together and engage in intellectually stimulating conversations. I miss the times when we could just be together, and spend time together. However, in the end, once Annabeth and Malcolm were born, she left me. I don't know why I'm rewriting all of this since the episode remains to haunt me to this day, but perhaps writing it down will help me relax.

Anyways, I remembered my pleas to her to not leave the kids and me. I reminded her that leaving would be bad for the kids' well being. However, her foolish pride got in the way, and she reasoned that it would make no difference whether she stayed or not; the kids wouldn't have much of a mother anyways if she were to work all the time and the kids would get in the way of her work. She claimed that it was for the best. She got her divorce in the end, and left me with the kids. I have never forgiven her for that. Had she even considered my feelings in the matter at all? Did she not believe that I had my own studies to attend to as well?

I guess that's why I married Susan (So that's my stepmother's name_, I thought_), she distracted me somewhat from what I had lost. However, even that was not enough. I wondered what it could've been after all these years. Why was I still reminded of her? Recently, I realized what the problem was; it was Annabeth and Malcolm's fault. They are like their mother in so many ways, that it drives me insane. It constantly reminds me of my greatest loss. They have their mother's grey eyes, her intelligence, her tact, her wit, and her habit of thinking ahead. That is why I have made the decision to move to Greece, and leave them in foster care. When I am finally free from them, I will be free from living in the past and finally move on with my life.

It's all for the best.

Frederick Chase

_My eyes stung with tears that threatened to fall down my face. Our dad was going to leave us. He was going to leave Malcolm and me in foster care. We would most likely be separated. I've heard of the lives of how siblings sent into foster care would most likely never see each other again. _No._ I refused to believe this, and decided to take matters in my own hands._

"_Annabeth! Where's my sandwich?!" my stepmother (whose name I now realized was Susan) loudly demanded._

_I got out of the study as quickly as I could and looked for her. I later found my stepmother in the living room upstairs, watching _"Doctor Who?"

"_Took you long enough…" she ungratefully muttered. Without so much as a single "thank you", she waved her hand and signaled for me to leave her alone. Pig._

_I immediately went down to Malcolm. _

"_Malcolm! Malcolm! I have big news!" I shouted excitedly._

"_Is dad finally going to let us go to Camp Half-Blood?" he guessed hopefully. I wished._

"_Malcolm, it's not good news… Dad is going to move to Greece, and leave us here in foster care! We have to do something!" I said hysterically. _

_Malcolm looked just like I did. His face showed horror, confusion, disbelief, and mostly hurt. I know I was. We both couldn't believe that our own father was going to just leave us. I mean sure he never showed any kindness to us in our lives, but he was still our father. Didn't he have any moral obligation towards us?_

"_We're going to have to run away," I said suddenly, "It's the only way we can still be together."_

"_But-"_

"_No buts. Now come on, pack up whatever you can bring. We leave immediately"_

"_What about Thalia?" he asked. Thalia… She was our only friend. But I suppose that's the problem. She was the only one that actually cared about us, while no one else did. Not even our father cared about us. However, sometimes in life, sacrifices must be made._

"_I'll write her a letter" I promised, "we __will__ see her again soon. I promise you."_

* * *

_After writing a heartbreaking letter to Thalia explaining why we were running away and apologizing for leaving her, Malcolm and I took off._

_In my backpack, I had my digital camera, sunscreen, a water bottle, some food, some money, my dad's emergency credit card (TAKE THAT DAD!), some clothes, and some books._

_Malcolm, on the other hand, also had money, clothes, water, food, and books, but also carried a Swiss Army knife._

_We didn't know where we were going, but one thing was certain: we were blowing this Popsicle stand._

_We had been walking for about two hours, until we decided to stop and settle down in an alley. _

"_Annabeth, I don't know how much more I can take from this. We don't even know where we're going!" he complained._

_I was about to say something until we heard an menacing voice say, "What are you two youngsters doing out here alone at night in Manhattan?"_

_We turned around and saw a gangster. Damnit!_

"_Since you guys are kids, and I'm feeling very, __very__, kind today, I'll just take whatever goodies you might have and be on my way," he said with a rotten grin._

"_Buzz off and find someone else to harass" ordered another voice in the shadows._

_We all turned our heads to the voice's direction. Even though I couldn't see this guy, I could already tell that he was someone whom we could trust._

"_What did you just say? Who the hell do you think you are?" the gangster questioned, "Show yourself!"_

_We heard footsteps, and soon enough, we saw someone emerge from the shadows. What I had expected to be a policeman, or even Batman, turned out to be a teenage boy around the age of 15. He had sandy blonde hair and the most mischievous looking baby blue eyes. I had to admit, he was really handsome._

_The mystery boy's eyes twinkled with amusement as he taunted the gangster some more, "What are you stupid and deaf? I said back off from the kids ya mook!"_

_The older man's face was contorted with anger, "that's it punk! You're dead!" and he charged after the (surprisingly calm) teenage boy._

_I was about to scream out a warning, but the blue-eyed beauty sidestepped at the last minute, causing the gangster's momentum to work against him as he ran face first into the trash behind._

_The man's eyes flashed in anger and brought out a switchblade. This didn't look good for our mystery hero since he was at a disadvantage. _

_Turns out I was wrong. The brave 15-year-old had a knife discreetly hidden away in the sleeve of his jacket. With a flick of his wrist, he had his knife out in the palm of his hand. The metal of his dagger looked unlike any other that I had seen before; it had a bronze-gold color, and glowed ominously in the dark alley, making the gangster hesitate for a moment._

_A big fight ensued. Knife against knife. Even by just looking at their movements and fighting styles, I could tell that the teen hero would prevail. The gangster's movements were slower, less agile, and clumsy, whereas the younger boy's movements were more quick, flexible, nimble, and precise. In a matter of seconds, the gangster had fallen._

"_Don't ever come back…" he threatened, "If you do, I swear I won't hesitate to break you, understand?" The man grudgingly dipped his head, and left without another word._

_Our hero turned to us and asked, "Are you guys alright?" Malcolm and I were pretty shaken up from the whole incident, but we both managed to give weak nods._

_He sighed in relief, "Ok, that's good. Say, you guys look pretty miserable and hungry, let's go somewhere to eat and rest. Does that sound good to you?" We both nodded again._

"_Come on, let's go", and then we followed him._

"_Alright guys, before we actually get something to eat, we're going to have to get some money. Wait here, I'll be right back, and watch the master"_

_Before I could inquire further on what he meant, he disappeared with a wink, he left us in the crowd._

_We watched this mysterious boy merge with the busy pack of people, walking among them as if he were a part of it all along. Without looking suspicious, the boy (whose name we still did not yet know) approached a person, and inconspicuously reached out his hand and stole his wallet. _

_Our eyes opened in shock. This kind hero turned out to be a common thief! _

_He returned to us and without any concern over what he had just done, said, "Ok, let's eat!"_

_Malcolm and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing: Could this guy be trusted? But hey, he saved our butts earlier, and now he's buying us free food. We decided to take our chances._

* * *

"_So," the guy (whose name we __still__ did not know) began, "Since I just saved you guys earlier, I think I have the right to know the answer to this one question: What are you guys doing out here all alone at night in New York?"_

_We stopped eating our McDonald's burgers and our faces hung down as we remembered the earlier events that led to our running away._

"_We're runaways. Our father was going to leave us in foster care and move to Greece with our bitch of a stepmom. He never loved us, and even if he decided to keep us in his custody, we would still be confined to a life of servitude and misery…" I answered. Malcolm weakly nodded his head to confirm my earlier statement._

"_Oh…" he sheepishly replied, "I'm sorry. You know, I can kind of relate. My father never loved me, and he left my mom and me since I was a baby. My neighbors told me that my mom had never been the same since he left and had grown insane over the years because of his absence. I decided that I've had enough and sent my mom in a professional mental hospital. After that, I ran away to make her life easier, you know, to have one less person to worry about."_

_There was an awkward silence until he asked, "So, where were you guys going anyways?"_

_We shrugged, and Malcolm responded, "We didn't decide. We just knew that just about anywhere was a good place to be, instead of the alternative…"_

_He seemed to be considering something, stroking his imaginary beard, and suddenly said, "So let me get this straight, we are all runaways with family problems and all agree that anywhere as far as possible from this terrible place is a good place to live, right?" We nodded our heads warily._

"_Well, us runaways have to stick together right? Tell you what; we'll go together to, say, California and make lives there, and promise to never stay away from each other. Does that sound good?" he proposed._

_We looked up to him in disbelief, "You'd do that?" Just the thought that this boy would go through the trouble of doing all of this for us; to travel across the country to help us escape the evil clutches of our evil family, to help us on our journey to make new lives, to help protect us and be someone to depend upon, seemed to good to be true._

_Malcolm and I had never had anyone to depend upon before, except for Thalia of course. We always had to become the __in__dependent ones because no one had ever shown any concern for us before. _

_We did the natural thing._

"_Yes! Of course!" Malcolm and I said simultaneously._

_The not-so-much stranger broke into a grin and exclaimed, "Great! Now before we go embark on a life-changing journey together, I think we should get properly introduced to each other. I don't even know your guys' names."_

"_That's okay, we don't know your name either. My name is Malcolm," my brother said._

"_And my name is Annabeth" I added._

"_My name is Luke. Now let's get going. California's a long way off." Luke said with a grin. _

_When we left the restaurant and began our new lives, I couldn't stop smiling_. I had a good feeling about this, _I thought._

* * *

"Annabeth… Annabeth… Annabeth!" I heard someone shout and shake me at the same time. I woke up and made eye contact with swirling pools of sea-green irises.

I remembered where I was. I was here with Percy filling in as a camp counselor for the camp that he worked for. The same camp that I was so close to joining with my brother.

I sighed sadly, and felt tears that threatened to spill.

Percy must've noticed, because he asked in concerned voice, "Hey, are you ok?"

"Yeah. I'm ok. I'm just tired is all…" I muttered my weak excuse.

Percy cocked an eyebrow, clearly not believing my explanation.

Thankfully, he let it go and announced, "Well, we're finally here. So come on, let's go and let's meet the family."

_Family_, I thought bitterly. _I haven't had one of those in a while…_ But without another word, Percy and I stepped out and set foot into the one and only Camp Half-Blood.

**AN: I don't own anything else in this chapter that happens to be copyrighted such as McDonalds, and stuff, aight? Good. **

**Also, if you want to help suggest what my next story should be about, vote on my poll on my profile! Like I said before in my last chapter, I don't plan to end this story any time soon, I just want to know what you guys think and to get prepared.**

**And I cannot emphasize this enough. I want all of you readers to tell me on how I could improve my writing. I feel that it's missing something important that would make it a professional piece of writing, and I want you guys to tell me what it might be. (I'll just spare you guys the sob story about how my ego took a huge nose-dive for the past 16 years…) But I want to thank everyone out there who complimented my writing. It means a lot! **

**I'd really appreciate it if you (my precious readers) would tell me by reviewing A.) If you liked the story B.) If you hated the story C.) What you liked the most about my story so far (your favorite parts ranging from Percy playing guitar to cereal-obsessed Demeter campers) D.) Just want to say anything related to the story or my writing skills…**

**So here are some questions to think about from the chapter: What happened with Luke? Why doesn't Annabeth "have a family" anymore? What will happen to them in Camp Half-Blood? Will they fall in love there? **

**Well, you can tell me your guys' thoughts by reviewing! I'm curious as to what you guys are thinking. See you soon.**


	6. Camp

**AN: I don't own anything that is even remotely related to Percy Jackson and the Olympians or The Heroes of Olympus.**

**By the way, I've decided to dedicate chapters that I write from now on to whomever writes a lot of reviews, writes a review that catches my eye, favorited my story, or followed my story! **

**In this case, this chapter to **_**Cmedance**_**, who had been faithfully reviewing my story almost every time I update! You're awesome!**

**(Annabeth POV)**

Life was fine before I was chased to death by nerds, almost got killed by flying knives, and certainly before I got close to getting mauled by armed children in the woods.

We made it up the hill and were about to pass the pine tree until Percy suddenly stopped and had a look on his face, clearly saying that he suddenly remembered something. Something unpleasant.

"Annabeth, before you go in, there's something that you should know…"

"Hey! It's Percy Jackson! The guy who refused to eat our cereal and dishonored the name of all that is agricultural!" I heard a girl scream in an agitated tone. Percy groaned in frustration.

I raised an eyebrow at him, "What did you do Seaweed Brain?"

Before he could answer, several other girls and boys, all wearing farmer's outfits and wielding gardening tools, gathered around the girl who announced Percy's arrival.

The girl continued, "Come on! We have to teach him a lesson about how wonderful cereal can be!"

"CEREAL!" they cried in unison.

"Well, got to go! I'll see you later! Meet me at the Big House, and I'll see you soon, ok?" and at that, he started sprinting for his life, while being chased by angry mini-farmers behind him.

Before I could shout after him and ask what the hell the "Big House" was, several of the kids surrounded me, and one of the girls asked, "Do you love cereal?"

I gave her a puzzled look, "Yeah, sure I guess…"

They seemed pleased with my answer, and then the girl asked, "Are you Percy Jackson's girlfriend?"

I blushed furiously, and hoped that they didn't notice, "No! Of course not! Why do you ask?"

"Really?" she questioned, "You guys sure looked like a couple…"

"Well we're not!" I snapped.

One of the boys could tell that I was getting annoyed because he said to the girl and the rest of his cereal-loving colleagues, "Come on Miranda, leave her alone, let's just chase Jackson around and give him the lesson that he's overdue for!" and they ran off.

I chuckled, thinking about the horrors that Percy would have once they caught.

After looking around and asking for directions from several campers, I found what Percy had earlier called, "The Big House". Since he said that he'd meet me here, I waited for his arrival.

Shortly after sitting down on a nearby bench, I listened to a scream that belonged to Percy in the distance, "Please! No! Not the Raisin Bra-"

"You need your fiber and cut down on trans-fats!"

I then overheard a muffled, "I'm not _that_ fat!"

I couldn't help myself; I doubled up in laughter, unable to contain the mirth inside of me any longer. Wow, I seem to be doing a lot of that recently. I haven't laughed this much since… Luke…

About a few minutes later, Percy emerged from the woods and walked back towards me, taking labored breaths like he had been choking on something earlier.

When he got closer, did I realize that he smelled like raisin bran and was in fact, covered with bits and pieces of the stuff from head to toe.

"Hey" he said nonchalantly.

I rolled my eyes, "Seaweed Brain, what did you do to make those guys angry? And an even better question, how did you escape? They seemed pretty vicious to me."

He chuckled and admitted, "I kind of declared in front of them during breakfast one time that I was sick of cereal and threw away my bowl of honey-nut cheerios into the hearth."

I was about to go for another round of hysterics, but put my hand on my mouth.

Percy complained, "Hey, if you had to eat nothing but cereal for four years straight for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in college, you'd be pretty sick of it too!" I suppose Seaweed Brain made a valid argument there…

He continued, "As for your second question, the Demeter kids, the lovely group of rioting mini-farmers that you saw earlier, usually let me go after catching me and teaching me a 'lesson', and the cycle repeats over and over again. I wish I could run faster so that I could outrun them though…"

He seemed to consider this, and I just sighed at his ridiculousness.

Percy snapped back into attention and said, "Hey, let's go inside and meet Chiron and Mr. D"

We walked into the "Big House" together and saw two people sitting across from each other on a card table playing some sort of card game. It looked like Pinochle.

One of the players was a middle-aged man in a wheelchair. He had a scruffy beard, thinning brown hair, and eyes that seemed to hold millennia of wisdom behind them. He wore a tweed jacket that smelled like coffee.

The other player, however, was small, yet porky. He had a red nose, big watery eyes, and curly black hair so black that it almost looked purple. Just put the image of a cherub who turned middle-aged in a trailer park, and you've got a good idea of what this guy looked like. His choice of clothes wasn't the best though. He wore a tiger-pattern Hawaiian shirt.

Percy walked up to the man in the wheelchair and greeted, "Hey Chiron!"

The man -Chiron- looked up from his game and smiled the moment he saw Percy and returned the friendly gesture, "Percy my boy! How have you been? And who is this fine young lady? Is she your girlfriend?"

_Oh my gosh, why does everyone seem to think that?_ I thought in frustration.

Before I could respond, Percy said nervously, "No! She's not my girlfriend! This is Annabeth, and she's here to replace Lexie for the time being."

Chiron gave Percy a knowing grin and mused, "Sure Percy. Whatever you say."

The gambling cherub then turned his attention from his cards to me and squinted at me, "So this is the substitute Athena counselor, eh? Are you sure you're up to the job of handling know-it-all brainiacs blondie?"

Anger bubbled inside of me and I clenched my fists. I hated people who automatically assumed that I was dumb because of my hair color. They always spoke in slow, short, and simple sentences, obviously thinking that I wouldn't be able to comprehend what they were saying if they just spoke normally. I then surprise them by using really advanced words that no "blonde" should ever know. The looks on their faces are priceless.

Before I could make a snarky comeback, Percy stepped in, "Mr. D, Annabeth is one of the smartest, strong-willed people I know. She'll be able to handle the Athena campers."

The fact that he spoke so highly of me and said it with such conviction made me blush a deep crimson.

Mr. D just snorted, "Whatever. Anniebell, Percy will show you the way around the camp. Now shoo, I have more important things to attend to."

_Yeah, like playing Pinochle on your fat ass all day,_ I thought in my head. My dislike for this character was increasing by the second.

"Yeah, we'll do that" Percy said through gritted teeth. So I wasn't the only one who hated this guy.

Chiron gave me and Percy and apologetic look, and went back to playing Pinochle after Mr. D asked him whether he was going to bid or not.

When we were outside and out of earshot, Percy apologized for Mr. D. "I know he's a bit…"

"Piggish, crazy, irate, ignorant, condescending, all of the above?" I finished for him.

He gave me a smirk, "Yeah, exactly."

We continued to make small talk and tour around the campgrounds. There were volleyball courts, archery fields, horse stables, a _really_ big forest, and a climbing wall that oozed something that looked like lava. Percy later assured me that it was just red-orange paint, and that if you got any on you, you would be disqualified and have to start all over again, or something of the sort.

After taking me to see the wonderful "climbing wall of death", Percy took me to the amphitheater, the lake, the arts and crafts center, armory, arena, the fireworks beach, and the mess building.

As Percy was talking about how things worked in each of the buildings, I couldn't help but stare and admire the architecture and style of the buildings. They were all fashioned in the ancient Greco-Roman architectural style, which happened to be my favorite type of architecture.

Our tour was drawing to a close once Percy dragged me to the cabins.

The cabins were without a doubt, the oddest collection of buildings that I have ever laid eyes on before in my life. I counted thirteen cabins total; 12 cabins for the Olympian Greek gods and one for Hades I assumed. I remembered that Camp Half-Blood was heavily based on Greek Mythology. Sort of like the leaders of Olympus Inc.

The first cabin, which had a bronze number one on it, was the biggest and bulkiest. Its polished bronze boors shimmered like a hologram, so that from different angles lightning bolts seemed to streak across them.

Cabin two was a bit more graceful-looking, with slimmer columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers. The walls were carved with images of peacocks.

Cabin three was a long, low, and solid building. The outer walls were of rough gray stone studded with pieces of seashell and coral, as if the slabs had been hewn straight from the bottom of the ocean floor.

Cabin four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made of real grass.

Cabin five was bright red – a real nasty paint job, as if the color had been splashed on with buckets and fists. The roof was lined with barbed wire. A stuffed wild boar's head hung over the doorway.

Cabin six was a gray building with plain white curtains and a design of an owl over the door. As I passed by it, the owl's beady eyes seemed to follow me and stare straight through my soul.

Cabin seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.

Cabin eight was an all silver building with silver curtains. It was decorated with paintings and carvings of wild animals, but mostly the stag.

Cabin nine looked like a small factory, with brick walls and smokestacks like the forges and lots of gears around the entrance.

Cabin ten was a wooden cabin with a painted blue roof, pillars, checkerboard deck with steps and gray walls. When Percy and I passed it, I almost gagged because it reeked of designer perfume.

Cabin eleven was a building with peeling brown paint, and a caduceus over the door.

Cabin twelve was a building that seemed to be made up of only grape vines, considering the fact that I couldn't see any signs of other materials in the cabin.

Cabin thirteen was a bit scarier looking compared to all of the rest. It was a windowless cabin made of solid obsidian, with heavy columns, had a skull over the door, and had torches that burned green (I later found out that they burned 24 hours a day).

When Percy finished showing me the various cabins, I heard an "eep!" and turned around to see a girl about the same age as me. She had brown hair and blue eyes, and was very beautiful.

She ran up to him and gave him a tight hug. When she hugged him, I felt a slight pang in my stomach. Weird.

She shrieked in excitement, "Percy! You're here! And you have a girlfriend! She's so pretty!"

Again with people thinking that I'm Percy's girlfriend. What is wrong with these guys! But instead of being angry, I just blushed, at which Silena squealed some more.

Percy chuckled. "Hey Silena, nice to see you too. Silena, this is my very good friend Annabeth," he said, emphasizing the word friend.

Silena just rolled her eyes, "Percy, come on! Your guys just look so cute together! Don't deny that there's chemistry between you two! Oh I get it, you guys are keeping your relationship a secret and will announce it at the campfire talent show tomorrow night! Don't worry, I won't tell."

Percy just pinched the bridge of his nose and said exasperatedly, "Silena, Annabeth and I only met each other yesterday. How on earth could we be in love and in a relationship in only a day?"

Silena answered the question by saying, "Who can know love? I mean, haven't you guys heard of love at first sight?" Percy's face dropped at this, and Silena seemed to notice what she had done wrong, and apologized.

Before I could ask what was going on, I heard someone bellow, "Percy!"

A really tall and buff African-American man, also about Silena's age approached Percy with a smile and greeted him, "Percy! How's it been? It's been too long!"

"It's been about two days"

"I know! Such a long time!" We all laughed at that.

"Hey, Annabeth" Percy said to me, "this is Charles Beckendorf, aka Beckendorf, Silena's fiancé"

At that, Silena proudly held up her engagement ring.

"Congratulations you guys!" I said and gave them hugs.

"And this is my friend Annabeth. She's replacing Lexie," he said, introducing me to Beckendorf.

After pleasantries were exchanged, Percy excused us.

"Well, I've got to go take Annabeth to the Athena cabin. See you guys soon!" Percy said.

We said our goodbyes and Percy led us to cabin six, which I could only assume was the Athena cabin. Figures. There's an owl (Athena's sacred animal) on the cabin, duh!

Before we went in, Percy decided that now would be a good time to tell me about the job.

"Ok, so here's what you do as a camp counselor. Since you're only here for Monday and Tuesday, you'll be taking the Athena campers to their various activities of the day," he said before giving me a scroll of paper, which I could only assume was the schedule for activities on Monday and Tuesday.

Percy continued, "As a counselor, you're here to make sure that they stay in line in their activities and will teach some of the lessons that Lexie used to teach to other campers, which happens to be knife-wielding in the armory, and Greek, which is good since you're so good at it" he said in a teasing tone.

I smiled at the memory. When I realized that my friends weren't going to let me kill him when Percy and I met at Starbucks yesterday, I decided to insult him in Greek and sent a flurry of profanities. What I didn't expect to find out was that Percy was equally proficient at Greek and merely said, "ντροπή σου." (Shame on you)

Anyways, moving on. Percy just gave me another scroll of written instructions for my stay in Camp Half-Blood, and opened the door to the cabin.

I was overwhelmed. It was a nerd's paradise. There were smart boards everywhere. Maps, desks, and various projects were put all over the cabin. Also, all of the bunks were shoved together against one wall, as if sleep wasn't important. I loved the place.

One of the campers approached Percy and asked, "Is she our new counselor?"

Percy nodded, and then the kid said sassily, "Let's see if you can keep up with us lady"

Percy whispered in my ear, "Don't worry about them. They'll warm up to you eventually. Just show them your smarts."

Percy clapped his hands together and said, "Well, be nice to Annabeth, ok? I'll see you all later at lunch!" and then left.

An Asian kid approached me and said, "Well, Annabeth, welcome to the Athena Cabin. Get ready to get your brain served."

I only smirked. How cute. If they think that they could take me on, then they have a whole thing coming to them.

* * *

"Good Job Cheyenne!" I said encouragingly at my eleven-year-old pupil.

Well, after a few, what I like to call, "misunderstandings", the Athena kids and I got along great. We all had an affinity for learning new things, and using them creatively to make, create, and conspire new projects, plans, etc.

At first, the Athena campers said that they had an "initiation ceremony" that all campers in their cabin, including counselors, should go through. They got out a bucket of owl droppings and said that they were going to dump the contents all over me. Of course, I wasn't stupid enough to believe their lie, and I refused, keeping my dignity. However, these kids just really wanted to see me covered in owl droppings, so they had to chase me around with the bucket, trying to get me covered in the stuff.

After about an hour, I was hiding in a special corner and decided that I've had enough. So after I gave a brilliant display of my intellectual superiority (and Taekwondo), I crushed the campers' pride to a pulp, they started to respect me. Wow, I sound like a bully now don't I?

Anyways, so as of the moment, they all were practicing archery. Instead of actual arrowheads, they were using suction cups, because of… well, you know…

Since Chiron taught archery, I was off teaching knife wielding to other campers. Right now, the Poseidon cabin was attending the class, and of course, Percy accompanied them, goofing off and having fun with the kids. When they walked in, doing just that, I couldn't help but smile at Percy's father/big-brother-like demeanor in front of the kids. It's like he was a natural at this thing.

Back to the present, Cheyenne just blushed at my comment and gave a quiet, "Thank You" and ran back to Percy, who happened to be sitting on the seats, watching us. I actually found it quite adorable how all of these kids loved and looked up to Percy like actual family. It reminded me of Luke…

I shook my head. I couldn't afford to get distracted while I was teaching right now. Especially when the subject that I was teaching included sharp, pointy, and lethal objects. No pressure.

I then asked a girl named Marina, "Hey, why isn't Percy getting involved with the lesson?"

Marina just smiled, like I was a child asking a ridiculous question, "Percy doesn't need to learn knife wielding. He's already the best swords and daggers weapons specialist in the whole camp!"

Only two words crossed my mind when I heard Marina say that. _Challenge Accepted._

I hollered at the top of my lungs so that Percy could hear me, "Hey Seaweed Brain!" cue snickers, "How would you like to go one-on-one with me at knife wielding! Daggers only! Right here, right now!"

He shouted back, "I dunno Wise Girl! I don't think that you could take it!"

"Try me!" I retorted.

With a shrug, Percy made his way down (or should I say swaggered) to where I was in the center.

"All right kids, get ready for a lesson that _I_ will be teaching _you_. Never challenge Percy Jackson in a sword or knife wielding duel," Seaweed Brain said haughtily.

"We'll see," I said.

After we both put on our armor and protective gear, Percy got out his dagger from his counselor bag.

I went to my own counselor bag and brought out my very own special knife. It was the same knife that I hated and loved at the same time.

When I unsheathed it, I could hear the Poseidon campers gasp. My dagger was shorter than most, had a soft leather grip, and beautiful designs decorating the dagger, but that wasn't what made my audience gasp. The metal of my dagger was unlike any other metal that I, or they, had seen before; it had a bronze-gold color, and glowed ominously in the arena, making Percy hesitate for a moment.

"Impressive knife there Wise Girl, but let's see if you can use it" he said with a smirk.

_I'll wipe out that smirk off you face you ignorant asshole_, I thought and gave him a smirk of my own.

When the duel officially started, neither Percy nor I moved. We just spent our time circling one another, searching for any signs for weakness in each other.

Percy made the first move and headed straight towards me, and attacked with his knife. I easily deflected the strike, and tried to counterstrike. However, Percy struck again.

_Get in close,_ I heard Luke's voice instruct me, back when we were travelling cross-country together with Malcolm. _When you've got the shorter blade, get in close._

I stepped inside with a thrust, but Percy was waiting for that. He deflected my blade and shoved me onto the ground.

He was about to strike and touch the tip of his blade onto my armor (he's not trying to kill me, don't worry), but then I caught the strike on my dagger hilt; it was a move that only the quickest and most skilled knife fighter could've managed.

Percy was shocked and his reaction was all that I needed. I used his dazed state to kick him in the abdomen and send him flying across the square.

I ran up to him, and before he could get back up, I tapped my knife blade onto his armor and whispered into his ear, "I win Seaweed Brain"

Percy's face was priceless. It was a mixture of shock, disbelief, respect, and something else. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was making him blush furiously for some reason.

I then realized our position, and hastily picked myself up, and reached out my hand for Percy to take. Reluctantly, he grabbed my hand and I lifted him up. I then saw the reactions of all the Poseidon campers. They all had their mouths wide open.

I just snickered at their expressions, "Close your mouths guys, before you get flies in them."

After they had gone over their shock, they cheered my name, "ANNABETH! ANNABETH! ANNABETH! ANNABETH!"

I was flattered, needless to say. I haven't felt like this ever in my life. It was a great feeling. Percy and a few other campers then decided to take the liberty of carry me and lift me up into the air. I was laughing and my face turned red from embarrassment.

I had found some pretty great friends here.

* * *

After lunchtime, everyone at Camp had heard of my victory against the camp's most renowned knife wielder.

Chiron and Mr. D even approached me and asked whether I would like to stay at Camp Half-Blood full time. However, I politely declined and said that I just really wanted to pursue my dream of becoming an architect.

Chiron seemed understanding about it. However, Mr. D just complained about having to find a counselor when a great one was right in front of him.

When I told Percy, he just seemed jealous, "Mr. D never gives out compliments. You must be really something Wise Girl. By the way, how did you learn to fight like that? Remind me to never make you angry again, now that I know that you can whoop my ass."

My smile melted off of my face and I just looked at him and said, "Some things are better kept a secret." I didn't want to be rude to him or anything, but it's just that I've only met him for about literally one and a half days. I don't think I can trust someone with my dark past so easily.

Percy didn't want to go further since he could tell that it was a touchy subject for me and switched subjects, "So how about that crème Brule? The camp chefs really do know how to make their deserts, right?"

Our conversation went on like that, with us laughing together, having a good time. I may not trust him enough to tell him my past, but at least I know for sure that (a) he's one of the best friends that I have ever had and that (b) he's someone to be trusted. However, the extent of how much trust I should give him remained to be a question.

* * *

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful… That is, except for perhaps "monster hunting" class.

Monster hunting class was when all of the cabins came together, and hunted for "monsters" for all the way until dinnertime.

So while the Athena campers and I were making my way on to monster class, I was overwhelmed with their enthusiastic comments such as, "I can't for monster hunting!" "Do you think that they'll bring in a 'minotaur'?" "Poor Annabeth." Wait up, did I just hear, _Poor Annabeth?_ I wondered. I have a feeling that "monster hunting" class wasn't going to end up too well for me.

When we finally arrived at the armory, the rendezvous for "monster hunting" class, I was not pleased with what I saw. The whole camp was there, and my cabin was the last one to show up. The camp was divided into two sections; one side was filled with campers, who were currently putting on their safety gear and armor, and the counselors, who were dressed up as ancient Greek monsters found only in Mythology. I suddenly realized what monster hunting meant for me; I was a monster and the kids were hunting us.

I saw Percy dressed up as a Cetea. Figures he would dress up as an ocean-based monster. I saw the rest, and I had to snort at their ridiculous costumes. It wasn't funny however, until Chiron approached me and gave me _my_ costume. I was Medusa.

When I slipped on my costume, Percy just hooted, "I love what you did with your hair Wise Girl!"

I just stuck my tongue out at him.

Chiron then came up to the center of attention and quieted down the campers, "Campers! You know the rules! Once your weapon touches a 'monster', the you will get a number of points according to the sheet posted on this tree!" and he gestured towards the tree.

So apparently, for whatever type of 'monster' you tag with your weapon, the tagger gets a certain amount of points according to this sheet. I took a quick look at it and found very disturbing news. Medusa (me) was the most valuable monster on the list! Which meant that I was the top target on everybody's hit list!

Percy just gave me a cheeky grin. Oh how I wish I could slap that boy's face right now…

Chiron continued on, "Campers! You will give the 'monsters' six minutes to hide in the woods! Once the six minutes are up, you are free to go and try to capture them and 'kill' them!"

The campers cheered. Aw damn.

"Go!" Chiron shouted.

All of the counselors then ran like there was no tomorrow into the woods. Hey, when in Rome, right? So I ran after them, having no clear sense of direction as to where I was going.

I pushed past needles, branches, vines (what were vines doing here?), trees, and a whole variety of vegetation in the forest, hoping to get the most distance or find the best hiding spot from the campers in the allotted time of six minutes.

I finally came across a pile of stones in the middle of the forest. At a certain angle, it looked like a giant fist breaking through the crust of the earth. At another angle, however, it appeared to be a pile of deer droppings. Interesting.

As I circled around the fist/pile of excrement, I noticed a small crevice in the compilation of stones. It looked big enough to hide me inside.

I heard someone shout, "There! I think Medusa's over by the Poop Pile!" So that was what it was called.

Without even thinking twice, I jumped into the hole, and landed on something.

"Oof!" I heard someone grunt.

Scratch that, I meant to say someone. I took a better look at the person I landed on, and with the tiny bit of light that shone from the fissure in the "Poop Pile", I could make out the outline of Percy's face.

Before I could say anything, Percy put his finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet and the pointed up to remind me that the campers were still out there, looking for us.

Once I realized that staying quiet would be the best course of action, I just sat there with Percy.

We eventually heard one of them say, "Eh, maybe they're at the creek! Come on! Let's go!" and heard their footsteps leave us.

Since no one had discovered us yet, Percy and I just decided to stay there. Going back outside in the sunlight would just be plain suicide.

We were sitting there for quite a while in silence, and Percy was constantly squirming, fidgeting, and, well, acting Percy-like. Maybe he was ADHD or something.

The silence hung heavily in the atmosphere, and frankly, it was getting really awkward. About twenty minutes later, I decided to ask him a question that just occurred to me. You know, to break the silence.

"How did you find this place?" I asked out of nowhere.

Percy just smiled. "This place? I found it once when I attended camp when I was about 14 years old. I was just running around with Grover-"

"Grover went here?"

He gave me a pointed look. "Yes Annabeth, now if you'd just let me finish my story…"

"Sorry", I weakly mumbled.

Percy smiled again and went on with his tale. "Anyways, when Grover and I played a prank together on the Hermes cabin, who by the way you should _never_ prank unless you want to be pranked at least ten times worse the next day.

Where was I? Oh yeah, once they found out that the prank was from us, we were running away from a mob of angry Hermes kids chasing us down deep into the forest. Eventually, we split up and I stopped at "Zeus' fist", or more popularly known as the "poop pile", and just happened to fall in to the very crevice that you just fell into.

After that, I just hid there and came out when I thought that it was safe. Too bad I didn't know that the Hermes kids had a special surprise waiting for me at my cabin…"

I didn't know whether to laugh, roll my eyes at him for being a Seaweed Brain, or just call him a Seaweed Brain. I went with all the above.

After I rolled my eyes and called him a Seaweed Brain, and started to snicker, Percy joined in with me, and together we just giggled in the secret rock structure and just relaxed.

Eventually, we went on to play "20 questions". Percy started.

"So, you said that you had a job interview coming up, right?" he asked.

"Yes. That's one question from you." I teased.

"Hey! No fair! You're not making this easy…" he complained.

I just smiled at how adorable he was. Yes, he's adorable when he pouts, sue me.

"Seaweed Brain, I am never, _ever_ going to make things easy for you. Get used to it." I said matter-of-factly.

"However," I continued, "Since I am just _so_ awfully nice and generous, I will dismiss that earlier question. Now ask away."

He gave me a lopsided grin. "So, what is the company that you are working for?"

"Olympus Inc. I want to work for their architecture firm," I said with absolute certainty, "I just know that that's the place where I'll get the famous name that I've been waiting to receive all my life. Mark my words Percy, I _will_ be the world's most renowned architect."

Percy looked at me with admiration, respect, and amazement.

Eventually, I don't know how though, I just got caught in his eyes. Oh gosh, his eyes… They're so beautiful, just like the vast and uncontrollable ocean. For a moment, we were just staring at each other. Grey met green.

Before either of us could say anything, we heard a conch horn blare in the distance. Darn, I had 20 questions left to ask him.

"Game's over," Percy announced, "We should get going."

"Yeah," I agreed hastily, hoping that he couldn't see my blush, "we should." At that, we both climbed out of the secret stone structure.

When we were almost at the rendezvous, Percy stopped us and said, "You know that you're the only one who knows of my secret hiding place in the 'poop pile', right? I'd really appreciate it if you'd keep the location a secret… Please?"

I felt really happy at the thought. I was the only one who knew of Percy's secret hiding place? Of course I wouldn't tell anyone. It just felt like an inside joke that consolidated the bond between us as friends.

"Sure Percy, you're secret's safe with me." I replied with a smirk.

Percy returned the smirk and said, "Come on. I can't wait to see the frustrated faces of the campers as they ask me the same question that they've been dying to know every time we play 'monster hunting'"

By the time we had returned, like Percy had predicted, everyone swarmed us with questions.

"How did you guys manage to elude us for so long?"

"Did you hide in the bathroom or something?"

"Peanut Butter!"

We refused to answer their questions (I wasn't sure whether the last statement _was _a question) and just said, "A magician can never reveal his secrets"

That only resulted in getting them increasingly aggravated.

"You guys aren't magicians!" a kid from the crowd accused.

"You don't know that"

That shut him up.

We laughed at his silence and before we knew it, the huge crowd held us up in the air and they were chanting out names.

"PERCY! ANNABETH! PERCY! ANNABETH!"

_That sort of thing happened to me twice in the same day_, I noticed. I don't know what it was, but I felt really warm inside. A feeling that was foreign to me for about 10 years. With this realization, I knew that Camp Half-Blood had finally been able to give me something that I had been longing for in a while.

Percy was right. Camp Half-Blood was my new family.

* * *

After dinner, things were slightly less eventful. People still looked at us with awe and esteem, though. I didn't get it. What did I do to get this kind of reaction? Percy later told me that not a single counselor, except for Percy of course, had ever won a game of "monster hunting." Figures.

Percy also introduced me to all of his counselor friends. There was Beckendorf and Silena, who you guys have already met. Beckendorf co-counseled the Hephaestus cabin with a man named Leo Valdez, who was really hyperactive. From what I've gathered, Leo along with Travis Stoll (the Hermes counselor), were the biggest pranksters in the whole camp. Travis' brother Conner was also one of the camp's most renowned pranksters, but he wasn't there as a counselor because he had a full time job as a corporate spy.

Silena was the counselor for the Aphrodite cabin. No wonder.

Jason Grace, Thalia's twin brother (I remembered him from trying to fly off the swings once in Central Park when we all went together as 8-year-olds). I received a lot of hugs from him, and 'I missed you's from him.

Another guy named Jason was the counselor for the Hera cabin. He seemed pleasant enough. That is, until he started asking me a bunch of questions regarding family. Which pissed me off and resulted in me giving him a punch to his solar plexus. I felt better. Percy seemed really pleased too, though I didn't understand why.

Katie Gardner was the counselor from the Demeter cabin. I was kind of hesitant to approach her considering the fact that her cabin chased Percy around to death with deep fiery anger. Turns out that she wasn't as much of a psycho as her cabin mates. She didn't hate Percy for disliking cereal, and she was really kind.

Clarisse La Rue was the counselor for the Ares cabin, and just like her cabin mates, she was really aggressive and likely to start a fight, which was, in fact, what we did when we first saw each other. We later made up and became friends after about 20 minutes of cooling down. It's funny how life works out.

Michael Yew was the counselor for the Apollo cabin. He was a nice guy. He was a little on the short side though, and looked a bit like a ferret. He was leaving tomorrow for college, much like my predecessor, and his replacement was coming in tomorrow. Someone named Rachel Elizabeth Dare. When Percy heard that name his eyes lit up and he broke into a goofy grin, which made me feel really annoyed for some reason.

Zoë Nightshade was the counselor for the Artemis cabin, and along with the rest of her cabin mates, she absolutely hated boys. She made an exception, however, for certain guys like Percy. I still don't know how he was so popular among these people.

Travis Stoll was the counselor for the Hermes cabin. I think that I mentioned that he was one of the camp's most renowned pranksters. His favorite target, I heard, was Katie Gardner. My guess? He had a love-hate relationship with Katie. Boys certainly have weird ways of showing their affection…

A guy named Pollux was the counselor for the Dionysus cabin. I didn't get to know much about him, but he seemed like a really cool guy.

Finally, a girl named Hazel Levesque was the counselor for the Hades cabin. She was really nice and also owned a successful jewelry store in Manhattan. She makes time, however, to be a counselor at Camp Half-Blood, which I think is really cool. She was also engaged to a guy named Frank Zhang, whom she had met in camp. Frank was a corporal in the Marines, and was really good at his job. Hazel told me that Frank was planning to resign and get another job in the city. They seemed really happy together.

After dinner and meeting one another, we all headed to the campfire. Over there, the Apollo kids played some guitar, and we all sang along. The deep sense of community and love was so thick, I felt like I could actually touch it. I actually considered dropping my dream of being an architect for being a counselor and take up Mr. D and Chiron's offer for a moment.

People kept on begging Percy to play and sing for us. After about 436 requests, everyone at camp gave up trying to get him to play.

"Don't worry guys! Percy's probably going to play for us at the talent show tomorrow night!" Michael exclaimed.

Percy nodded his head, confirming Michael's statement. A cheer broke out in the crowd. My curiosity grew, and I only had two questions. What is this talent show that everyone's talking about? And why is everyone so enthusiastic to hear Percy's guitar playing?

I asked Percy, who was sitting right next to me, these questions.

Percy just shrugged. "I don't know," he answered, "People think that I'm good at playing it, I guess. As for the talent show, the camp holds a talent show every month and every cabin gets to participate, whether they send a representative, or they go perform altogether as a group. Chiron, Mr. D, and a mystery guest are the judges and it's a lot like America's Got Talent. It's really fun. You should try it."

I thought about it. I couldn't possibly go up on stage. I always got nervous. I used to love performing in public, but I haven't exactly been the same with the incident ten years ago…

Once the campfire was over, we went to out respective cabins to sleep.

"Goodnight Seaweed Brain."

"Goodnight Wise Girl." I heard a squeal in the background. It was probably one of the Aphrodite campers.

Before I knew what was happening, Percy leaned forward, and kissed me on the cheek. I was shocked and just stood there with a dumbfounded expression on my face.

Percy just laughed at me, and said goodnight again and went into his cabin.

I felt butterflies flutter around in my stomach. I felt really nervous, anxious, and happy at the same time. I haven't felt this way since… Luke…

It still pains me to think about him, but I knew that he wouldn't want me to stress over him and what happened, but I couldn't help it. Emotions are emotions, and you can't really do much to change them.

I went back into my cabin, and collapsed onto my bed, exhausted from the day's activities.

"What happened?" I heard a camper ask me.

I didn't answer and told her to just go back to sleep.

I just stayed like that for a while, staring at the ceiling of the cabin, trying to figure out my feelings, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

**AN: I don't own anything here that might happen to be copyrighted.**

**Also, if any of you guys decided to ignore the AN above, this chapter is dedicated to _Cmedance_, and you can read the reasons above. **

**By the way, this story is far from over, but I just want to ask you guys what my next story should be about. So go to my profile and vote!**

**And for my faithful readers out there, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. You can blame it all on the institution that imprisons children and robs them of their glorious time to do amazing things (such as writing stories). I'll give you a hint. It's called **_**school**_**. Oops, I guess I told you the answer, oh well. So, because of my homework and schoolwork, I will probably just be updating every week or something.**

**Also, I just saw this really awesome movie called, "It's Kind of a Funny Story" I recommend that you guys see it.**

**SUPER IMPORTANT! I know that I'm probably taking a huge risk here of giving you spoilers on the next chapter, but... I need you guys to tell me what song you would want to see in this story. Any song that you love and would love to see in the next chapter. Hint: TALENT SHOW**

**I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me by reviewing A.) If you liked the story B.) If you hated the story C.) How I could improve my writing D.) What you liked the most about my story so far (your favorite parts ranging from Percy playing guitar to cereal-obsessed Demeter campers) E.) Just want to say anything related to the story or my writing skills…**

**Your guys' reviews really inspire me, you know?**

**Questions of the chapter: What will happen at the talent show? Will Annabeth ever sort out her feelings? What happened ten years ago that made Annabeth not laugh as much? Who will win the talent show? Why does Annabeth's knife sound so familiar? Tell me your answers by reviewing, and I might just include your answers in the next chapter.**


	7. Pranks

**AN: I don't own anything Percy Jackson related, it all belongs to Rick Riordan, who I am positive will someday be best buddies with me. Just kidding, but seriously…**

**By the way, this chapter is dedicated to… ****1Dlol****! The reason? She actually commented on my story recently (other than Cmedance, but she got the dedication last chapter), so that's good! **

**Honorable mentions go to:**

**Cmedance**** for helping me on my story. By the way, the reason you aren't the dedicatee for this chapter is because I have a rule of not dedicating my stories to the same user two times in a row… But that doesn't mean that the next chapter won't be dedicated to you ;) You rock!**

**julilivingston8**** and **** for favoriting my story recently**

**The Only Rebel 5509**** for following my story recently**

**You guys are my inspiration and can't thank you enough for actually reading this! Now on to the story!**

When I was in the middle of sleeping quite peacefully in my bed, I was woken up in the rudest way possible.

I was in the middle of dreaming, yet another dream with Annabeth involved. What this means is still a mystery to me…

_I was sitting on the couch, watching the Super Bowl. As of the moment, the 49ers just made a touchdown. My eyes widened in desperation. No! The Ravens must win!_

"_Yeah Kaepernick!" I heard a female voice scream next to me. I switched my focus from the game to the voice and saw Annabeth in a 49ers T-shirt cheering for her favorite team. To say that I was surprised to see Annabeth next to me in my apartment jumping up and down, and hollering like a madwoman over a football game was an understatement. _

"_Annabeth?" I asked incredulously. _

_She faced me with a playful gleam in her eye, "Get ready to lose that bet Seaweed Brain!" _

What bet?_ I wondered. _

_I must've been thinking aloud because Annabeth just rolled her eyes and said with a sigh, "Did you forget already? Come on Percy, not even you're that stupid. We literally made the bet about 15 seconds ago!"_

"_Ummm…" Before I could say anything, the house rumbled. Pictures and furniture fell to the ground and toppled over. It felt like the whole world was collapsing. No joke._

"_Percy!" Annabeth screamed out of fear._

"_It's going to be ok Annabeth! I'm right here for you!" I assured her. We locked into a tight embrace and ran to look for somewhere, anywhere, where we could find some protection from this calamity. Concrete was falling. Dust and debris were flying around everywhere. Annabeth and I rushed to my bedroom and went underneath the bed to use as shelter._

_However, during that time, with Annabeth in my arms, shaking furiously like a frightened Chihuahua (or maybe it was me that was shaking…), one strange thought occurred to me. Earthquakes don't happen often in New York, and whenever they do, it almost never occurs at such a powerful magnitudes such as this. _

_Just when I was thinking these thoughts, a voice echoed loudly around the crumbling building. It said something like, "Time to get up!"_

"Percy! Percy! Wake up!" someone said, shaking me rigorously.

I shot out of bed in cold sweat.

"Annabeth!" I screamed. With a sigh of relief, I realized that I was only just a dream. Wow, that was a really freaky dream. I would never want something like that to happen to Anna-, I mean me.

"Percy?" asked someone to my left, "Are you okay?" I was about to answer whoever asked that question, only to find that the person asking was a really scary-looking ninja. The ninja stood at about my height, was holding several shurikens in his hand, carried a katana on his (or her) back, and had dark, piercing almond eyes.

Naturally I screamed.

"AH-" but then the ninja clamped his hand on my mouth.

"Percy! Shut up! It's me." And the ninja pulled down on his mask, revealing the face of the one and only Sean Yamamoto. Figures he would dress up like a ninja at around… I took a look at my watch. 5:00 in the morning! Aw man… Thanks to Sean, I'm not sleepy anymore. Which only pissed me off further. Damn him…

When he released his hand, I warned him in my calmest voice, "You better have a good reason to wake me up at this hour if you don't want something bad to happen to you soon."

Sean was a nice guy. He was of Japanese descent and was a really good swimmer for his age. He could swim a 200 IM in 2 minutes, and he was only 15 years old.

"Come on Percy! The other guys are up, and we want to prank someone, and want you to join." I lifted my head up and saw that he was right. I saw the fifteen other Poseidon campers up and ready to do some damage, all dressed up in ninja costumes for some reason that was unknown to me. Even little Cheyenne looked pretty intimidating in her size 4 dark pink ninja garb.

I was flattered that they would want me to join in their prank. I love a good prank.

"So… Why were you screaming out Annabeth's name?" a camper named Marissa asked me teasingly.

I blushed furiously. "I, uh… "

I was interrupted by her brother Tanner, who said, "Come on Marissa, you know the answer already! Percy's got the hots for Annabeth!"

"No I don't!" I protested. The campers all gave me doubtful looks that basically said, _really?_

I got up and was about to say something until Sean pulled out a dark sea-green ninja outfit for me.

"We can talk about Percy's love life later. Here, put this on," he said as he threw the article of clothing at me. I decided to ignore what he just said and drop the Annabeth subject.

"May I ask why we have ninja suits?" I asked, switching topics.

"Because ninjas are bad ass! And so are the members of the Poseidon cabin!" Cheyenne answered. My eyes widened in shock. How could such a sweet little nine year old say the word 'ass'?

"Cheyenne!" I scolded, "Where did you hear that word?"

"I heard it when Marina and I were watching MTV together." She answered.

Marina looked away.

"We'll talk about this later Marina. And Cheyenne, don't ever say that word again."

"What? Ass?" I heard some of the other campers giggle.

"Cheyenne!"

"Sorry…" she mumbled.

I sighed, and switched topics. "Ok, let me change for a moment" and I went to the bathroom. When I came out, all dressed in my dark sea-green ninja-suit (I looked pretty cool, if I say so myself), they were all ready for me. They kind of looked like generals convening together to make some sort of war strategy or something… I'm so proud of them.

"Ok. First thing's first, what have you guys come up with so far in your prank?" I asked.

Sean answered, "We were planning to prank the Athena cabin. Matthew insulted our intelligence and dishonored the Poseidon name! He went up to Cheyenne and said, and I quote, 'You and your kind are just a bunch of fish-brained idiots who will never amount to anything except for perhaps drowning and decapitating yourselves at the same time.' We won't stand for this!"

A (silent) roar broke out in agreement.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Matthew did that? That punk's got something coming to him." I grumbled.

Marina spoke up, "Yeah! To avoid suspicion and getting in trouble with Chiron or Mr. D, we decided to prank our own cabin, along with the Athena cabin, the Hera cabin (the other cabin that pisses us off) simultaneously. We'll split up into groups of two and go to the Athena and Hera cabins and prank them each at the same time, I'll give you details later, and then when they wake up, we'll rush back into our cabin and douse ourselves in water, not that we'd mind it at all since, you know, all of us love water and getting soaked." The campers nodded their heads in agreement.

I had to hand it to them; they did a really good job thinking this prank out. Back in my day, our pranks just consisted of guerrilla tactics: hit, run, and hope that you don't get caught. The future generation seemed to be more thoughtful and prudent.

"Ok. Sounds good. So what are the pranks that we're doing to the Athena and Hera cabins?" I inquired.

"For the Athena cabin," Charlie said, "we plan to give them a little surprise visit and wake them up with random facts in different languages to scare the shit out of them, you know? Then we'll make our quick getaway by locking their door on the outside. You know what? While we're at it, let's cover them in silly string! I got so many cans in my trunk that I've been waiting to use all winter break"

"Silly string?"

He ignored me. "As for the Hera cabin, since they have a weird fetish for peacocks, we decided to shower them in some fake peacock feathers from the camp store once we spray them with quick-reacting glue! They'll look like peacocks for the whole day! It's brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!" he whisper-shouted victoriously.

Actually, now that you think of it, it was a really great plan. We probably wouldn't get in trouble (the decoy, remember?), and it was really creative and original.

Without even hesitating, or giving this matter a second thought, I said enthusiastically, "Let's do it!"

Silent cheers broke out in the cabin.

We went out of the cabin in a single-file line, and split up. Half of us went to the Hera cabin carrying glue and the bucket of (fake) peacock feathers, while the other half (including myself) went to the Athena cabin with canisters of silly string and lock-sabotaging material.

The Athena cabin was kind of… weird, for lack of a better term. It was like a nerd's paradise. Smart boards, projects, and other nerd-related stuff are placed everywhere. Do these guys ever sleep?

When Sean opened the lock with his lock gun, we all crept inside and had our weapons and tools ready (You didn't think that we'd go unarmed, did you?).

Sean produced an Asian-styled gong and then hit it loudly, which was the signal for everyone to go with the plan.

I heard so many different languages.

"Kuamka!" (Swahili)

"目を覚ます!"(Japanese)

"Проснитесь!" (Russian)

"起床!" (Chinese)

"일어나!" (Korean)

"Réveillez-vous!" (French)

"تستيقظ! (Arabic)

"Probuďte se!" (Czech)

As the army of ninja-warriors went to I followed Sean, while spraying my bright blue silly string at some screaming campers that were freaking out. It was so funny to watch them; they looked like flailing and flopping fish on the deck of a boat or something. I watched Sean as he approached some random Athena camper, who was currently freaking out at the moment in her bed. "おはようございます! 熱力学の法則は言う…"

Sean didn't get to finish his sentence because the camper screamed, "Who the hell are you!?" Oh, turned out that that "random camper" was Annabeth.

"僕はあなたのおとうさんです!"

She looked at Sean, then at me, and just rolled her eyes and said, "あなたは私のおとうさんではない… " Wow, I did not expect her to know Japanese. Apparently, Sean didn't either, but kept his cool nonetheless.

Sean just retorted, "僕はみためよりわかいです."

"間抜け… I'm going to kill you!" At that, Annabeth then shot out of bed and chased me and Sean around the room. I saw the other Poseidon campers doing the same thing. We were all being chased to death by very angry nerds, covered in silly string and had murderous looks in their eyes. Not that I could blame them. It was really fun to see their expressions, though. That is to say, when they're not chasing you of course.

We were approaching the door and saw the ninja (Alice) who was keeping guard by the door. Once she saw us, she got ready to close the door and work (super-fast) on locking the murderous and bloodthirsty campers inside by sabotaging the lock.

Once we got out, Alice, being the wonderful ninja locksmith she is, got straight to work and successfully locked in the Athena campers in about 2 seconds. After breathing a sigh of relief, we each took a look at our left and saw that the Hera mission was equally victorious. Fortunately, they also had a really talented locksmith on their team, so they succeeded in locking the Hera cabin mates inside their own cabin as well.

Judging from the handiwork, I'd say we had about 20 minutes at most to get into our cabin, change into our pajamas, and douse ourselves in water to avert suspicion when Chiron asks who was responsible for the pranks.

We each shot back into our cabin and did as we planned. We changed, and doused ourselves in water, locked our own cabin on the outside (how that happened, I'll never know), and started banging on the cabin door, fake-pleading to be let outside while letting loose some very angry outbursts.

Moments later, Chiron opened the door and had a lock gun in his hand.

"Children! Who did this to you? The Athena and Hera cabins were also pranked!" he said excitedly.

"What? Our good friends from the Athena and Hera cabins were pranked too?" Trevor asked, "Whoever did this must be stopped!"

I had to admit; Trevor's acting skills were really good. The guy should go for Broadway or something…

Chiron just nodded his head, believing Trevor's mask of innocence. "Yes. After you get changed, come meet me, the Athena cabin, and the Hera cabin in the Big House to help find out who is responsible."

We all agreed, and at that, he left. Once the door was closed, and Chiron was out of earshot, the Poseidon campers and I huddled together.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, I say that we have perhaps performed the greatest and cleverly thought out prank ever!" Everyone agreed with me with big, stupid grins on their faces. "That'll teach Matthew, the Athena cabin, and Hera cabin that the Poseidon cabin is more capable of doing things than 'Drowning and decapitating ourselves at the same time'? Am I right?"

A loud cheer erupted among our huddle.

I broke into a huge smile on my face. "That's what I thought."

* * *

When we finished changing and stuff, we all headed to the Big House. Once we arrived, I couldn't help but laugh at the scene. The Hera cabin _did_ look like a bunch of overgrown, humanoid peacocks. They almost looked like ridiculous blue chickens. They each reminded me of Big Bird gone blue.

The Athena cabin, on the other hand, looked tired, grumpy, discombobulated (probably from the gong that Sean hit), but most importantly, was covered in silly string from a rainbow of colors. They had bags under their eyes (I don't know how that happened), bloodshot eyes, messed up hair (tangled with some silly string), and, well, just looked like they got out of bed in the most obnoxious way possible… Which was kind of what happened.

When the Hera and Athena cabins noticed us laughing, both cabins glared at us with the basic message, _don't say anything, or we'll hunt you down and kill you where you will never see the light of day. _

Message received…

When my cabin each took a seat, Chiron proceeded.

"Campers, in Camp Half-Blood, we have a very lenient policy towards pranking, and this time will be no different." We heard groans echo through the room. Chiron held up his hand for silence. "However, given the circumstances, and the fact that no prank had ever gone this far and on such a large scale before, the punishments will be a little more demanding." The campers cheered, even our own cabin, you know, to keep up the façade…

"Some ninja said something about the Law of Thermodynamics!"

"I look like a blue chicken!"

"Water up my nose!" We all looked at Trevor with weird looks, but dismissed it.

"Yes… Well, can anyone tell me anything about these… What did you say they were Jason? Ninjas?" Chiron asked. Jason nodded his blue-feathered face. I had to chuckle, his feathers were just bouncing up and down with his every move.

"Well, there were about eight ninjas in the Athena cabin, and seven in the Hera cabin" Matthew said, "But that's pretty much the extent of our knowledge about these guys."

"One of them had an Asian-styled gong, and another one of them had a lock gun." An Athena camper named Kristy supplied.

"Yeah, that too."

Chiron shook his head, clearly unpleased with the lack of evidence of this prank.

I couldn't help but feel victorious. We had pulled it off! I took a look at my fellow campers and they looked like they were suppressing grins also.

I then felt someone staring at me from behind. I turned around and saw Annabeth looking at me with a suspicious look… Like she knew something that everyone else in the room (minus the Poseidon cabin) didn't. Worst-case scenario? Annabeth correctly finds out that we were actually responsible and turns us in with her super-smart and intelligent mind. That wouldn't be good.

"Well, anything else?" Chiron asked. I silently pleaded Annabeth not to say anything. To my relief, she didn't.

"Ok then, I'll see you all for the semiyearly Half-Blood games." Oh, the Half-Blood games… I almost forgot about that. My cabin would have to do some planning…

You see, the Half-Blood games are a series of events played in the camp. They range from events such as chariot racing, archery contests, a cook-off, even a machine-building contest, and they all lead to the most important event of them all: the talent show. It was really fun. Every cabin would send at least two-three representatives to participate and counselors could join in. Cabins could do that, or two cabins could send one-two representatives and work together as a single team.

For example, last time we had the games, the Aphrodite cabin and Hephaestus cabin sent their representatives (Beckendorf and Silena) to work together as a team and they reached 3rd place, which was significantly better than any of the scores that they had received when they worked alone.

When all of the cabins went to leave the Big House, I felt a hand on my shoulder, stopping me from joining my cabin.

"Not so fast mister" I heard Annabeth say behind me.

I turned around to face her. "Hey! Annabeth! How's it going?"

She regarded me with a cold glare. "I was fine until you and your cabin decided to give my cabin a very rude wake-up call."

I huffed, "You don't know that!"

"Come on Percy," she said, "When you raided my cabin, I saw your eyes behind that mask. Only one person in the world could have that kind of eye color."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your eyes are a deep sea-green. They just swirl and change shades according to your emotion. No one could have that same kind of eye color." She answered.

"You don't know that."

"Reason two," she continued, "during the meeting, you and your cabin were the only ones who were laughing hysterically when anything regarding the prank came up. It's kind of suspicious, don't you think, for a cabin to have been recently pranked rudely and to just laugh about it when they should've been as grumpy and miserable as the other victims?"

She got me stumped. "Ok, what do you want in order for you to not tell anyone?"

Annabeth looked at me with a mischievous grin, the same grin that I had imagined her with in my dream. Flashes of a crazed 49ers fan in my apartment passed my mind.

"I don't know Percy, let's just say that you owe me one. But I assure you, I won't use my favor lightly…" and at that, she turned around swiftly, whipping her hair into my face, and walked off, leaving me with the faint scent of lemon shampoo.

What a girl…

**AN: I don't own anything else in this chapter that might be copyrighted…**

**Today, I just picked up a decapitated rat (don't worry, I used a plastic bag) and threw it in the trash. Because my mom was so grateful, she decided to let me buy a book, so I need you (my readers) to help me decide what (paperback) book that I should get. You could do that, or choose one of the following options: **

**Legend**** by Marie Lu, ****Airborn**** by Kenneth Oppel, ****Monster**** by Walter Dean Myers, ****Jasper Jones**** by Craig Silvey, ****Nothing**** by Janne Teller and Martin Aitken, ****Ship Breaker**** by Paolo Bacigalupi, ****Paper Towns**** by John Green. **

**Since you guys love to read (otherwise, what are you doing here?) I want you to help!**

**By the way, since this chapter, Cmedance (who is now pretty much my BFF) and I decided, was better to be cut into two, the entries for song suggestions for the next chapter are still open! So, write in your favorite song, or a song that you really like, or a song that you really hate, I don't care, just put in a song that you want to see in the next chapter!**

**Another thing, the whole Super Bowl scene that I just wrote, that was written a long time before the Super Bowl even happened; so don't be furious at me for mistakes or whatever. In fact, the game just started right now... Go 49ers!**

**Also, I am not Japanese, in case you guys were wondering. I just happen to have an affinity for learning new languages. However, that doesn't mean that I speak Swahili, Russian, Arabic, or Czech. I just used Google translate for those languages.**

**I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me by reviewing A.) If you liked the story B.) If you hated the story C.) How I could improve my writing D.) What you liked the most about my story so far (your favorite parts ranging from Percy playing guitar to cereal-obsessed Demeter campers) E.) Just want to say anything related to the story or my writing skills…**

**Question of the chapter: What will Annabeth use her favor from Percy for?**


	8. Cheerios, Archery, and Periscopes

**AN: I decided to put this story on hiatus... Just kidding!**

**I don't own anything Percy Jackson related.**

**AHH! It was so hard to choose whom the dedication to this chapter would go to! The number of reviews, followers, and favorites just exploded, and frankly, you guys are making it hard for me. So stressful… -_-**

**And although I wanted to dedicate this chapter to everyone who did review, follow, or favorite my story, I had to come to a very hard decision, so don't hate or kill me if you didn't get it, if the dedication even means that much to you… I'll say it again, it was so hard to decide…**

**This chapter is dedicated to **_**alyaJackson**_**! For reviewing, favoriting and following my story, and favoriting and following me. You rock!**

**Honorable mentions go to:**

**Shandia99**** for following, favoriting my story and actually being the only one the recommend a book. Thanks by the way, I really appreciate it!**

**tangerine-sama**** for favoriting, following, and reviewing! Sorry I couldn't get to the talent show, but I'll get there. In about two or three more chapters later…**

**cocky-gurl**** for reviewing and favoriting my story. You're awesome!**

**pokemonlovinggirl**** for following and favoriting my story! Love your pen name by the way :P**

**arielchai**** for following and favoriting my story. I prefer smoothies though. Caffeine does not do me good… That, and my parents banned me from drinking any… :P**

**bookhugs**** for following giving such an AWESOME review! And yeah, I don't plan to drop this story anytime soon…**

**trio-of-friends**** for following my story. I like trios…**

**May Salome Love**** for following my story. Spread the love!**

**Blue-Ninja-07**** for following my story. And I like Ninjas too!**

* * *

After my lovely encounter with Annabeth, my cabin and I went to eat our breakfast at the Poseidon table.

As soon as I plopped into my seat, some Demeter kids came up with smiles on their faces. That can't be good…

"Hey Percy!" Miranda said once she approached me. She and her cabin mates had crazy grins on their faces. She was carrying something behind her, and I had a pretty good idea as to what it was.

"Hey Miranda" I said skeptically, "What can I do for you?" Wrong answer. Miranda immediately whipped out a box of honey-nut cheerios and shoved its contents into my face.

"MRANHA! MRANHA!" I protested, but she ignored my pleas. She started to laugh sadistically.

"Muahahahahahaha!" she cackled with glee, "Don't fight it Percy! Feel it's natural and healthy goodness! Taste its wonderful and explosive flavor!"

"Miranda! Cut it out!" I heard Katie say. My hero.

Miranda immediately retracted the cereal from my mouth and turned towards Katie, leaving me to catch my breath, "Hi Katie! I was just-"

"Miranda, just go eat with your cabin mates."

"Sure!" Miranda said perkily, before she, along with her cabin mates (or should I say cereal mafia…), hastily excused themselves.

"That girl is crazy," I announced.

Katie tried defending Miranda, "No she isn't, she's just… passionate towards cereal…"

I shrugged it off, and grumbled, "Whatever." At that, Katie headed towards the Demeter table and ate her breakfast along with her cereal-loving cabin mates.

"Okay" Sean started, trying to start a conversation, "So who are our representatives going to be?"

* * *

Soon after a delightful breakfast (note the sarcasm), we had decided who our representatives would be for the events.

Chiron had posted the list of competitions, including the times, locations, and all that fun stuff. Each cabin had to get together and decide who would compete in which event.

We took a look at the sheet before us. It read as follows:

Archery- 10:00, archery fields, Percy is banned from playing

Lava Wall Climbing- 10:45, Lava Rock Wall, you may choose representatives

Cooking Competition- 11:30, Mess Hall, you may choose representatives

Capture the Flag- 2:00, Fields, everyone must participate

Swimming Competition- 3:00, Lake, everyone must participate

Machine Building- 3:45, Arts & Crafts building, you must choose representatives

Chariot Races- 5:00, Amphitheater, you must choose representatives

Talent Show- 7:30, Amphitheater, Guest Judges (we have two this time): Nico di Angelo, Rachel Elizabeth Dare

"What?" I complained, "Why am I banned from participating in the archery contest?"

The campers just looked at me, like they couldn't believe that I was asking that question. Right.

You see, I'm not exactly the best guy out there when it comes to a bow and arrow. Like the first time I ever held a bow and arrow, Chiron ended up getting six suction-cupped arrows protruding from his wheelchair, cup of coffee, and even on his forehead, and he was _behind_ me. I was never quite sure as to how that happened…

Anyways, the point is, I suck at archery. Bad. And now Chiron banned me from playing. Well, my cabin mates shouldn't be talking either. The whole Poseidon cabin was notorious for its lack of archery skills. In fact, most of us have been banned from the archery range.

"I think we all agree that Cheyenne should represent us in archery," Marina said. I couldn't agree more; Cheyenne sucked at archery a lot less than any of us. Plus, she could actually land an arrow on the boss (the target).

Cheyenne looked flustered. "Wait, what?" she asked, looking between us incredulously, "Why me?"

"Because you're the best out of all of us, Cheyenne. You can do this!" Tanner said encouragingly. Everyone agreed with hearty, "yeah"s.

After some hesitation, Cheyenne turned towards me and asked, "Do you really think that I can do this?"

I know that's not really her question. Her face said it all. She just doesn't want to lose.

You see, Cheyenne has almost never gotten first place in anything. After putting high expectations on herself, she usually ended up getting crushed and being abysmally disappointed. As a result, she just kind of shuts herself up, and refrains from participating in many events. She doesn't know how to live. Sure she had her moments, like in this morning's prank. But for the most part, she just had a very low self-esteem, which is something that no nine-year-old should have.

She doesn't want to lose after living nine years of disillusionment, nine years of so many "so close, yet so far" moments, and ultimately be frustrated, yet once again in front of a huge crowd. "Come on Cheyenne, it's not about winning or lo-"

"The people who said that probably lost, and said that to make themselves feel better." Cheyenne interrupted, "Now I ask you again, do you think that I can really do this?"

What do I say to someone who needs my honest opinion right now? What can I say to her? How do I answer her honestly? She could still potentially lose. To be blunt, Cheyenne isn't exactly the best archer in the whole camp. So what do I do? I knew what to say.

I grabbed her, placed her in my lap, looked her in the eye, and said, "I can't tell you the future Cheyenne, but I know for certain, that if you're really willing to fight for something, and just believe, then there's not a doubt in my mind that you can do anything." I said sincerely.

Apparently, I said the right thing because her eyes showed less hesitation and wariness and flickered with a faint joy as she hugged me and thanked me.

"I'll do it," she declares. Everyone in our cabin had smiles plastered onto their faces and they kept on giving her words of encouragement. You've got to love the Poseidon cabin's deep loyalty and sibling love.

I took a look at Annabeth, who was sitting just some 10 meters away. She was smiling and gave me a "thumbs-up "sign. I returned the gesture, and turned my attention back to my cabin mates.

* * *

After some team planning or whatever it's called, the competitions began. It was on. The Poseidon cabin was going to kick some podex!

"Campers! Send your representatives! It will be single-elimination! First up is Poseidon vs. Athena vs. Hera!"

After he said that, three figures approached the targets. One was Cheyenne, next to her was Tria (in her blue-feathered glory), and the other archer whom she was up against was none other than Matthew. You know, _the_ Matthew. It was no surprise then that the Poseidon cabin all gave fierce glares to the boy-whom-shall-not-be-named. Of course, he was oblivious to our glares as his back was turned towards us, but we felt some slight satisfaction when we saw him shudder.

We all sat in the bleachers and cheered our cabins on. I could see Annabeth cheering with the Athena cabin on the other side of the stands. Wow, I've got some déjà vu. You know, from my dream earlier this morning? She caught my eye and smiled, and I smiled back. We both turned back to watch the competition.

Tria was up first. There was no denying it; Tria sucked. As did most other Hera archers. The only cabin that could possibly be worse at archery than the Poseidon cabin was the Hera cabin, and that's saying something.

Actually, if I recall correctly, there was a Poseidon camper a while ago whose archery skills were unparallel even to that of the Apollo or Artemis campers. I think his name was Orion or something like that…

Anyways, the point is that since the Hera cabin was worse at archery than us, it was expected, really, that Tria was knocked out of the first round. With an awkward stance, one eye closed, and a huff at a peacock feather that was in her face, later, she shot her arrow; it flew, and hit Mr. D's iPhone 5, which exploded on impact. I guess Tria forgot to replace the arrowhead with a suction-cupped one.

"Who did that? I was so close to getting a high score in my Pac-Man game until it blew up!" Mr. D roared. Uh-oh. If there's one thing that you must never, ever do to Mr. D, is interrupt one of his Pac-Man games. If you do, well… let's just say that I haven't seen the last kid who did that in a while…

Tria meekly raised her hand.

"That's it young lady! You're disqualified!"

Tria just walked off the fields dejectedly with blue feathers trailing behind her, and I felt a little sorry for her.

Then the attention was turned to Cheyenne and Matthew. The two contestants were lined up and Matthew went first. It was quite literally a competition between the Athena and Poseidon cabins, and things were getting intense. It was not only a matter of archery skills; it was a matter of honor. I think I saw Marina biting her nails.

Cheyenne looked right about ready to faint right now, so I did the reasonable thing.

"Cheyenne! Cheyenne! Cheyenne! Cheyenne!" I cheered. The rest of my cabin mates picked up and began cheering along with me. "Cheyenne! Cheyenne! Cheyenne! Cheyenne!"

Cheyenne looked over to us and gave us a smile, then faced the target again.

Her face scrunched up with concentration. She squinted her eyes, gazing at the target in the distance. Then she released her arrow.

_Thunk!_

The arrow hit the second ring from the center. Our cabin was going nuts.

Everyone was on their feet, hooting, and hollering for Cheyenne. Our cabin had never done this well before. I looked down and saw that a couple of the younger kids were having trouble seeing over the crowd.

I reached down and grabbed Willow, placing her on Marissa's shoulders. I did the same for Adrianne, placing her on Sean's shoulders. They all laughed and latched onto our heads, causing us to laugh with them while trying to coax them to uncover our eyes so we could watch.

Cheyenne jumped up and down; obviously amazed she had done so well. She turned and beamed up at me, and I gave her a huge thumbs-up. She ran to the side, a smile plastered on her face.

Matthew was up next. He took a ridiculous amount of time to get his stance right and perfect his aim. I was seriously starting to nod off and I think that Matthew was starting to nod off too (you know, from the prank earlier this morning?). I looked up just in time to see Matthew release his arrow. I followed its path with my eyes, when a particularly big gust of wind blew through the range. With a twang, the arrow stuck in the target… In the third ring from the middle. Sucks to suck.

The stands were silent for a moment, before we erupted into cheers once more. We streamed down onto the grass, lifting Cheyenne up over our heads and chanting. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Matthew trying to rip his hair apart. I blame the lack of sleep. But no one with ever know about who was responsible now will they? That is, of course, except for Annabeth.

Cheyenne was up again. She had four more arrows to go through until the round was over.

She picked up her second arrow, aimed, took a deep breath, and shot the arrow.

_Thunk!_

The arrow hit the third ring from the middle. Ouch. I blame the wind.

There were some cheers from the Athena cabin, which I was not too happy about.

Disappointed, Cheyenne just looked down at her shoes.

Matthew was up next and he looked more determined than ever to make a good shot. He seemed to be more awake, despite the bags under his eyes. He looked, pulled back his arrow, paused, thought for a moment, aimed, and shot the projectile.

_Thunk!_

It hit the bulls-eye.

There were a lot of groans from the Poseidon cabin and lots of excitement coming from the Athena campers.

Matthew just smirked as if it was inevitable that he hit the center. Punk.

Cheyenne paled considerably. I wanted to just go up there and tell her that it was going to be all right. That it was going to be okay. Unfortunately, game rules are preventing me from doing such things, so I had to stay put.

Cheyenne walked up to the line, took her arrow, placed it on the bow, pulled back, took a deep breath, and released the arrow.

_Thunk!_

The arrow hit the second ring from the middle.

"Yeah!" we all screamed. _Come on Cheyenne. I know you can do it._ I thought.

Matthew swaggered up to the line. He grabbed the arrow, placed it on the bow, aimed, and released.

_Thunk!_

The arrow hit the second ring from the middle. GAH! My dislike for this kid knew no bounds as he gave a cocky wave to the crowd.

Cheyenne walked up again to her line. She looked nervous

"Come on Cheyenne you can do it!" Trevor screamed. We all followed his lead. We were all just shouting an incoherent mass of encouraging words, but Cheyenne seemed to get the picture.

She picked up her arrow, got in her stance, took a good look at the target, exhaled, and released.

_Thunk!_

The arrow hit, yet again, the second ring from the middle. Cheyenne looked frustrated with herself, and looked about ready to give up.

Ah, the hell with it.

I jumped out of my seat in the bleachers and shot off straight to Cheyenne, despite the protests of my cabin mates.

When I reached her, Cheyenne looked about ready to cry. I knew what she was thinking. After so many disappointing and discouraging events in her life, Cheyenne was afraid of losing again, and letting her self-esteem reach a whole new level of "sad".

I hugged her, and she returned the gesture, and I felt some tears being soaked into my sweater.

"Why can't I do anything right Percy? It seems that whenever I try to do something competent for once, I always end up failing. Why can't Trevor, or Marissa, or Charlie just do this event instead?"

I peeled her off my sweater, and looked at her. "Cheyenne, do you remember what I said to you this morning at breakfast?"

She nodded.

"Well I meant every word I said. Your cabin mates and I knew that you are a fighter above all things, Cheyenne. You aren't just someone who is willing to give up after every minor failure in her life. You're more than that. You are Cheyenne: a strong, independent girl who will amount to great things in the future. And even if you end up losing in this contest, remember that this contest won't determine your whole future. You've got a whole life ahead of you kiddo. So do something with it. Don't succumb to feelings of inadequacy in yourself. Because I know that if you're really willing to fight for something, if you have a passion for it, and just believe, then there's not a doubt in my mind that you can do anything.

Now, do you believe?"

Cheyenne had a grateful smile on her face. She nodded her head.

"That's my girl."

"Hey! Peter! Get out of here! If you can't do the simple job of sitting your ass down on the bleachers there, then you clearly can't sit down for the rest of the game! Get the hell out of here!"

Cheyenne looked like she was about to defend me, but I just held out my hand for her to stop.

"Okay then, see you later Mr. D!" I said walking away.

Before I left, however, I whispered in her ear, "It's okay, I'll still see you play. I promise. I'm a bad-ass ninja, remember?"

Cheyenne just smiled and went back to her game.

You see, this wasn't the first time I got in trouble with Mr. D during the games; so naturally, I found other ways to look at the games despite my banishments.

There was a secret tunnel network under the ground, and my friend Hazel from the Hades cabin showed me these tunnels several times, and I know them like the back of my hand. There was one tunnel that led to a periscope (I still have no idea why that was there) that could show you the archery fields.

I found the entrance, navigated under them, and eventually found the one that I was looking for.

I found the periscope, now covered in a thin layer of dust, grabbed it, and peeped out of the ground and saw the games.

Apparently, I missed Matthew shooting his fourth arrow, which landed on the second ring from the middle. There was still hope for the Poseidon cabin to win this.

I saw Cheyenne stand on the line, get in her stance, close her eyes for a moment, take a deep breath, and inaudibly whisper under her breath, "I believe". She opened her eyes, aimed, and released her arrow, and sent it flying. Right. In. The. Bulls-Eye.

"Yes!" I screamed. I could see the other Poseidon campers going hysterical, screaming for Cheyenne. I could feel the ground above me vibrate a little from their cheering.

Matthew was up next, and I wasn't too anxious to see how it would turn out. If Matthew got another Bulls-eye, then the Athena cabin would win the round. I had to do something. So me, being the genius I am, walked into the direction of the tunnel, where Matthew was standing under.

The ground above me might be thick, but it was thin enough for me to be heard by, let's say, an Athenian archer standing above me at about 2 feet.

"Aliens!" I hollered at the top of my lungs.

I rushed back to my periscope to see what had happened, and I saw a complete pandemonium. The Poseidon cabin was going crazy, the Athena kids were going insane (not the good kind), and Matthew was angrily smashing his bow on the ground repeatedly. I saw the target, and saw that Matthew shot the arrow four feet _behind_ the target. Muahahahaha!

* * *

Well, long story short. WE ENDED UP WINNING!

It's kind of funny actually, since after my pep talk with Cheyenne, she's been hitting bulls-eye after bulls-eye. Not even the Apollo and Artemis campers beat her, which was impressive to say the least. Poor Phoebe, she looked really bummed.

Anyways, for the "lava wall climbing" competition, Travis Stoll ended up winning. I swear, that guy should join the Olympics or something. Marissa competed in that one and got 5th, which wasn't too shabby. The Athena cabin placed 7th. They were smart, but when it came to physical activities like climbing, they weren't exactly the best.

Jason from the Hera cabin ended up winning the cooking competition. It was a tough choice between the Hera and Demeter cabins. Of course, the Demeter kids were outraged, but what can you do about it?

And finally, the event that (most people) have been waiting for… Capture the Flag…

**AN: I don't own anything in this chapter that might be copyrighted. Like Pac-Man. But I wish I did. That'd be fun, you know to play Pac-Man all day and get profits from it and stuff. *shrugs* oh well.**

**Anyways, I'm sorry for not updating in a while. Yes, I am a terrible person. But I had a good reason. I was sick, I had track & field to attend to, and had to go to LA to visit my grandparents in the hospital. Not fun… Anyways, so yeah. I was busy.**

**Yes, I realize that the talent show scene has not shown up yet, and I apologize, but look on the bright side, at least you can still give me song suggestions!**

**I also realize that this might not be my best chapter, and I apologize if you didn't like it. Personally, I thought that it was too rushed and stuff, but hey, my life is a whole rush, so yeah...**

**Also, if you want a Capture the Flag scene in the next chapter, then you better tell me so because I'm feeling tired and just want to move on to the Talent Show to be honest... However, I am willing to write a Capture the Flag scene in the next chapter if you guys want, so tell me NOW! If you guys don't review and not tell me whether you want this not-yet-written-scene or not, then I will not write the scene in the next chapter at all (just a basic summary).**

**Question of the chapter: What do you want to happen in Capture the Flag? Who do you want to win? What will the teams be? Just give me any suggestions! I like listening to your guys' opinions and such.**

**I'd really appreciate it if you'd tell me by reviewing A.) If you liked the story B.) If you hated the story C.) How I could improve my writing D.) What you liked the most about my story so far (your favorite parts ranging from Percy playing guitar to cereal-obsessed Demeter campers) E.) Just want to say anything related to the story or my writing skills…**


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